MINCHINHAMPTON PARISH NEIGHBOURHOOD DEVELOPMENT …

2243/reports/216e * PRE – SUBMISSION ISSUE V1.0* Introduction 10.11.17

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MINCHINHAMPTON PARISH

NEIGHBOURHOOD DEVELOPMENT PLAN

2018 – 2036


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Vision for the future of Minchinhampton Parish

“The Parish consists of a cluster of communities which have historically developed around The Common, an area of outstanding

beauty and natural scientific interest, which has retained the benefits of the past and will continue to explore ways in which it creates

new opportunities. Communities may aspire to develop culturally, aesthetically, commercially, environmentally, educationally,

socially and spiritually, providing a safe place for future generations and families who will want to be proud to be associated with

and embrace the values of the past, the reality of the present and the ingenuity and innovation of the future.”


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Contents Foreword 1. Introduction 2. Surveys and Consultations 3. Analysis – Defining the Issues 4 Developing the Plan - Policies 5. Creating the Plan - Proposals

6. Progressing the Plan - Implementation Plans and Maps Map 1 The Parish of Minchinhampton

Map 2 Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty AONB Map 3 The sequence of Growth in Minchinhampton Map 4 Conservation areas Map 5 Species rich sensitive environment areas Appendices Appendix 1 Housing Needs Survey Appendix 2 Traffic Consultants report Appendix 3 Conservation Area Descriptions Appendix 4 Nature Conservation Data

Appendix 4 Nature Conservation Data Appendix 5 Slides of Roadshow Panels Appendix 6 Consultation Statement Appendix 7 Community and business questionnaires


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Foreword - The Community of the Parish of Minchinhampton

Our Parish of Minchinhampton sits on the Cotswold scarp; with its wonderful views west over the Severn to Wales, and east to the Golden valley and further into the Cotswolds. The ancient town itself, named for the nuns of Caen to whom the manor belonged after the Conquest, occupies the limestone ridge, which it shares with the glorious Minchinhampton Common, with its summer cattle grazing months, flowers, butterflies, and skylarks.

The hallmark of the town is its simple cross plan of narrow streets, and Cotswold stone buildings, and central square with the ancient Parish church, Market House, the Crown pub, and High street shops. Socially and spiritually the community also benefits from a Baptist Church, a Doctors surgery, dentist, Community Library, Primary Academy School, Youth club Scouts and Guides and the international Nkokoto Link. The 17th century Market House is a social hub, with the Country market each Thursday, keep-fit and Literary Lunches, Plays, Art exhibitions, and a film club.

The outlying villages of Box, Burleigh, and Amberley lie on the springline above the valleys, supporting several more schools and small shops, pubs and hotels, and Cotswold stone farm houses and cottages, whilst Brimscombe lies below in the Golden valley.

Minchinhampton became a popular place to live for professional and retired people as far back as the late 1800’s, and over many years has grown along the axes of the town, mainly east and west in fields south of the Stroud – Cirencester road. Some families have several generations working and living locally, some from home, others in local businesses or commuting to Cirencester. Bristol, South Wales,

Cheltenham, Gloucester, Swindon or beyond to London. They are vital to the economy of the area with the advantage of being able to live, enjoy and contribute to the relaxed way of living within the vicinity of Minchinhampton and the recreational benefits of the Common. With new technologies, there remains considerable scope for small businesses to flourish.

From 1889, sport has become a feature; first Golf on the Common, and now on two new courses; then Minchinhampton Rugby Club, and more recently Tennis, Cricket and Football coaching for young children. The Princess Royal hosts many events, such as the Gatcombe Horse Trials which attract top riders and many visitors, and is involved in the town charities. The Common is a strong draw for tourists, both to enjoy the flora and fauna and the cows, as well as the many events such as the kite festivals and Gifford’s Circus,

The community of Minchinhampton has over the years had to evolve different ways of being the Cotswold Town that it was planned to be, with challenges of tight spaces in the Town centre and the difficulties for modern vehicular access rather than horseback or pony and trap. One sight however that has stood the test of time is to see the cows make their way through the town during the summer and autumn time, at their leisurely pace, a gracious reminder that they are as much a part of community as you and I.

Change will come and whether we have lived with our families in the community for many generations or we have recently moved here, the challenge is not to regret change but to embrace change with a willingness that encourages, supports, contributes to and enriches all who wish to continue to enjoy the Town and the parish of Minchinhampton


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Map 1 The Parish of Minchinhampton


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1. INTRODUCTION

The Parish of Minchinhampton

1.1 The civil parish of Minchinhampton lies in the District of Stroud, and is centred on a spur of the Cotswold scarp, at about 190m above sea level, dropping down steep slopes, northwards to Brimscombe in the Frome valley, south towards Avening, and westwards to Amberley, Box, A46 and Stroud. The five administrative wards are: Minchinhampton North and South, Amberley, Box, and Brimscombe. Within each of these wards lie small hamlets such as Hampton Fields and Crackstone, Hyde, Balls Green, St Chloe and Pinfarthings.

1.2 The most recent data from the Office of National Statistics

shows that 5234 people, live in 2505 households, in the Parish. Of these, 2722 are of working age, and around 1600 have a graduate level of education , 1664 residents were over 65, and 848 younger than 15.

1.3 The facilities in the parish include 3 primary schools, 5 places

of worship, a doctors’ practice, a library staffed by volunteers, a historic Market House and three other village halls. No less than 59 community groups exist, and 56 businesses. Distinctive features of Minchinhampton and neighbouring Rodborough are the ancient limestone grassland commons, which are intercommoned and extend to over a square mile; part of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) across the entire Parish.

An Overview of the Parish

Five wards: - Amberley - Box - Brimscombe - Minchinhampton North - Minchinhampton South

Population and numbers from the Office of National Statistics: 5,234 residents - 2,722 of working age (52%) - 848 under 15 (16.2%) - 1,664 over 65 (31.8%)

2,505 households 3 Primary Schools 4 Village halls/Market House 1 Doctors’ surgery 59 Community Groups 56 Businesses 5 Places of worship 1 library One enormous Common, all in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) across the entire Parish


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What is a Neighbourhood Development Plan?

1.4 A Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) is a new type of planning document, that can be produced by a Parish. It is part of the Government’s new approach to planning which aims to give local people more say about what goes on in their area. This is set out in the Localism Act that received Royal Assent on 15 November 2011. The NDP will only proceed to be ‘made’ by Stroud District Council (SDC) if it passes a local Referendum. It can then be used to help determine planning applications in the Parish, alongside the District Council’s Local Plan and other material planning considerations.

1.5 Relevant though the Stroud Local Plan is, it does not contain

detailed information nor any statement of community views of the people who live and work in the Parish. The NDP would, for the first time, record in a structured form how the community of Minchinhampton should be shaped over the coming years; written by members of the community.

1. 6 This NDP, together with Stroud District Local Plan will form the

statutory ‘development plan’ for Minchinhampton Parish. Planning applications have to be decided in line with the development plans unless there is a very good reason not to do so. This means that the policies in this NDP will apply to any planning applications for development in the Parish. The Plan will also be used by Minchinhampton Parish Council as a guide to how to influence change within the Parish.

1.7 The Plan is consistent with, and adds to, the policies in the Local Plan and should be read with it. The relevant policies in the Local Plan are cross-referenced in this Plan. As a formal statutory plan, it is complex and may not be easily fully understood for those not experienced in planning matters. The overview below explains what are the key aims and the measures in the Plan that will help to meet these objectives.

What an NDP is Not 1.8 An NDP is not a contradiction of the policies or aspirations

contained in the Stroud District Local Plan. The NDP is there to supplement and provide local detail and relevance to the decision makers in the higher authorities who decide on matters of planning.

1.9 An NDP is not a charter to allow unrestricted development

anywhere in the Parish; nor is it a plan for implementation of the changes set out in this document; but is a formal expression of the stated wishes, vision and aspirations of the community. Decision makers have never previously had such clear guidance to help them when reaching planning decisions.

Formalities 1.10 Minchinhampton Parish Council received approval from the

local planning authority, Stroud District Council, to prepare its Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP). A Neighbourhood Area covering the whole of the Civil Parish of Minchinhampton, as shown on Map 1, was designated for this purpose on 16th June 2015. The Plan covers the period 2018-2036.

Extent of Parish/Parish boundary map.


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1.11 When the NDP is adopted the Parish Council (as a statutory consultee) and District Council (as the determining authority) will apply all relevant policies of the NDP in considering proposals for developing within the Parish. The NDP will be read in conjunction with the National Planning Policy Framework and Stroud District Council’s Local Plan, which has been developed in parallel. See Map 1 for the extent of the Parish.

Why Minchinhampton needs an NDP

1.12 The NDP contains a vision for the future of Minchinhampton Parish and sets out clear planning policies to realise this vision. It therefore provides the local community with a powerful tool to guide the long-term future of the Parish of Minchinhampton, including the town centre, its outlying villages, hamlets and the surrounding countryside, for the period of 2018 to 2036.

1.13 Without an NDP, there is no firm guidance for decision makers

to reflect upon the wishes of the community of Minchinhampton. As in any parish, Minchinhampton has many issues of housing, infrastructure, support for community activities, and day-to-day matters such as speculative planning applications, availability of school capacity, traffic circulation and parking, and the future of local businesses. The strength of Minchinhampton having an NDP is underpinned by a Parish-wide referendum to endorse the Plan.

1.14 These issues of planning and community function within the

parish have previously been explored in several ways. A Parish

Plan was drafted in 2005, and a public participation exercise termed ‘Planning for Real’ 2010 was carried out, seeking comments on how people in Minchinhampton wanted the town and villages to be protected, or change as necessary. These initiatives were never fully developed, nor taken forward to formal adoption. This NDP will be supported through a positive endorsement at the referendum.

1.15 Experience of continuing traffic problems, the lengthy

closure of the Crown pub, loss of businesses and speculative planning applications have also encouraged people to take action to protect places throughout the Parish, to think about the future of their built and natural environment, and to promote the preparation of an NDP.

What the Neighbourhood Development Plan aims to achieve

1.16 The NDP aims to deliver :

• Sustainable, modern settlement drawing on best practice

• Vibrant, with multifunctional character – walking-friendly

• A good place to live – environment, school, traffic, parking, pub and shops,

• Scale and Rate of development chosen by the communities to suit what the parish needs whilst contributing to needs of the District.


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Map 2 Area of Outstanding Beauty (AONB) relating to the Parish of Minchinhampton

2243/reports/216 e * PRE – SUBMISSION ISSUE V1.0* Surveys and Consultations 10.11.17

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2 HOW THE PLAN HAS BEEN DEVELOPED Managing the Plan Preparation

2.1 In order to develop the NDP, Minchinhampton Parish Council, as the qualifying body, set up a Steering Group made up of five parish councillors, representing the five wards, and a number of local volunteers. The Steering Group then established a number of sub-groups to undertake research and make recommendations on housing, business and employment, planning, the environment, and traffic matters.

Background - Policy and Guidance - Constraints

2.2 The National Planning Policy Framework clearly states that there should be a presumption in favour of development in the planning process unless there are good reasons not to permit development. The constraints presented by the many aspects of the Parish of Minchinhampton require that any encouragement for more development is channelled to minimise the impact of such development upon the key constraints. These constraints can be summarised as follows:

Natural Environment: The Common, ancient woodland and

pastures and meadows, the AONB Built Environment: Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas,

Townscape Infrastructure: The centres of the settlements in the

Parish have narrow streets, inadequate car parking and

additional road users to be

accommodated, cows and horses in particular. There are conservation areas to be considered

Existing Services: Schools, social facilities, medical

facilities, commercial and employment, and addressing the limited bus services, inadequate broadband and mobile phone service..

2.3 Whilst there is an acknowledged national and local need for

more housing to be built the Stroud Local Plan and this NDP seek to explain why some areas are more suitable than others to be recipients of development.

2.4 Should there be an acceptance of a need to accommodate

more development within the Parish it is essential that any such development proposed must be directly linked to remedying those causes of the limitations and constraints that can be addressed; such as highway improvements, school capacity, medical and social facilities. Some constraints, such as the extent of the Common and natural environment are considered inalienable.


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2.5 The surveys enabled the residents of the Parish to consider how they would like these pressures for additional housing to be met, where the additional housing may be located, and what benefits could be secured for the Parish from any such growth. Background - data on Growth of Housing in the Parish

2.6 In addition to the housing needs identified in the Housing Needs Survey there are pressures for additional housing to meet population growth projections. The Stroud Local Plan contains policies to meet District wide population growth. The Parish of Minchinhampton needs to accommodate its fair share of this population growth.

Past Growth of the Town 2.7 Minchinhampton has indeed consistently provided new

housing for people within the District since 1945. Growth has been at or just above an appropriate level to maintain a vibrant community, whilst not so great as to change the rural character of the Parish. The sequence of development is indicated approximately in Map 3 below.

2.8 In fact 1151 new homes have been built within the Parish since

1945 (source Valuation Office 2015). This is consistent with the national average and particularly post-2000 during which 191

new homes have been built. The overall growth in housing stock across the Parish is at a rate of 12 new homes per year.

Future Growth 2.9 Within the Parish, the Stroud District Local Plan identifies a

strategic allocation of new housing at Wimberley Mill (local Plan Policy CP2 and SA2). Wimberley Mill is located on the perimeter of the Parish. This site is close to the neighbouring parish of Brimscombe and Thrupp’s significant development proposal at Brimscombe Port. The Wimberley Mill proposal currently envisages about 170 dwellings being constructed. Whilst this would normally be expected to provide financial contributions to support the community facilities in Minchinhampton Parish, there are considerable site specific hurdles to be overcome in preparing the Wimberley site for development, including decontamination, flood alleviation, restoration of part of the River Frome, and canal works etc. thus little or no financial contribution may result from this development.

2.10 Any difficulties with the implementation of Wimberley Mill or

review of the Local Plan may lead to additional sites in the Parish being sought, and indeed the Review of the SDC Local Plan identifies two possible locations on the eastern edge of Minchinhampton. Later sections of this NDP cover the constraints on any future development.


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Approach 2.11 Against the planning background, the approach to obtaining

information for the preparation of the NDP was a combination of:

• consultation,

• surveys, and

• specific enquiries of interested groups and individuals,

• investigation and steering group discussion Consultation 2.12 The production of the NDP was supported by significant and

extensive local consultation. Major public consultation events, roadshows, with exhibition boards and members of the steering group present to answer questions, were held in February and March 2017 in each of the Parish Wards, both to identify issues experienced by residents and seek opinions on options. The material presented as exhibition boards is set out at Appendix 5. Over 300 parishioners, parish and district councillors as well as the local MP attended the roadshows.

2.13 Other consultation activities included a household survey,

questionnaire and Housing Needs Survey conducted in October 2016. Every household received these questionnaires. Businesses and community groups were also surveyed together with one-to-one meetings with individual interests directly affected by proposals in the Plan.

2.14 The Consultation Statement, See Appendix 6, which supports

the NDP, provides a comprehensive summary of who was consulted and how, along with evidence of how comments were considered and taken into account in the making of the Plan.

Photo MP at Brimscombe

Surveys

2.15 Where information was required on specific technical matters, topic-based surveys were undertaken;

• Housing Needs Surveys (HNS)

• Traffic investigations

• Household, community groups and business questionnaires

• Surveys of Natural and Built Environment


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Housing Needs Survey

2.17 As part of the research for the preparation of this NDP a Housing Needs Survey was undertaken, at the request of Minchinhampton Parish Council and under the guidance of the Gloucestershire Rural Community Council (GRCC), in October 2016. This is the first time for many years such a survey has been undertaken, and it provides valuable baseline information from which the NDP sets out its policy for the supply of new housing. A copy of the survey report prepared by GRCC is contained in the Appendix.

2.18 GRCC sent every one of the 2,505 households in the Parish of Minchinhampton a detailed questionnaire, to complete anonymously, regarding their housing needs. A standard format, employed for similar surveys undertaken in other Parishes across the country, was used for the questions. The survey addressed matters of tenure, size, household composition, affordability, and whether present and future housing needs were met by the home.

2.19 This Housing Needs Survey (HNS) report addresses the analysis

of the required supply of housing for the existing population of the Parish. The report can be summarised as follows:

- 775 responses were received (31%), a broadly similar response rate to other similar sized communities in Stroud District.

- Half of all respondents had lived in their home for 20 years or more

- 77% live in houses

- 50% in houses with four or more bedrooms

- 75% in households of one or two people

- 89% of responses owned or owned with a mortgage of their home

- 11% rented their home

- 25% said that someone in the household worked from home

- The average price paid in 2016 (HM Land Registry) for homes in the Parish of Minchinhampton was £440,000.

2.20 This information about housing in the Parish was gathered to

establish the profile of the housing stock. When linked to information about population and incomes, from the ONS Census analysis using standard affordability appraisal criteria, identifies the number and type of housing that is needed to satisfy the demand in the Parish.

2.21 Based on the survey responses, it is concluded that:

• 24 households with a local connection have self-identified themselves as in need of affordable housing in the Parish,

• All of the households identified as in housing need are either single persons or couples. There were no families identified as in housing need,

• The mix of housing stock by size of homes suggests that there is a heavy over-provision of larger homes and an


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under-provision of smaller one and two bedroom properties,

• Given the relatively high average cost of houses sold in the Parish in 2016, the ability of young first time buyers to find an affordable home in the Parish is a concern for the future younger members of the community continuing to live in the Parish in their own homes,

New housing to meet local needs should therefore comprise small one and two bedroomed properties for rent, shared ownership or open market sale.

New housing on Cirencester Rd

Traffic, Transport and Parking

2.22 In addition to previous work undertaken within the Parish, a Transport Appraisal Report, see Appendix 2, specifically surveying traffic, transport and parking issues, was commissioned from Helix Transport Consultants Ltd for the NDP. The work undertaken (in May/June 2017) is noted in the following paragraphs; the analysis of the results of the survey and the proposed recommendations arising are given below in Sections 3 ,4 and 5.

2.23 The survey by Helix looked at the traffic, transport and parking

issues both across the parish as a whole and also within each of the wards of the parish. However, Helix considered the North and South wards together, as one, because they share Minchinhampton town centre and the key approach roads. The current relevant national design advice and codes relating to road traffic and road safety were considered in the report and recommendations made in the light of these requirements and current best practice adopted elsewhere.

2.24 Helix undertook peak time traffic surveys, assessing the volume of traffic and also vehicle speeds, at a number of key points, in order to supplement and update the existing traffic data that had been made available through the Parish Council. The appropriateness, or otherwise of the current speed limits and other relevant road signs on the roads of the parish was also considered.


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2.25 The issue of the narrowness and poor forward visibility on key

roads in the parish, with the potential to cause traffic congestion at peak times was considered together with the associated problem of vehicles mounting the pavement in certain locations.

2.26 The poor environment for pedestrians, given the restricted

visibility and narrow or non-existent footways at significant points, where pedestrians need to walk along or cross the road, were noted and recommendations made to address these clear pedestrian-related safety issues.

2.27 The current parking provisions in the various wards were

considered, using, for Minchinhampton town centre, the existing parking surveys carried out in 2005, 2010 and 2016 made available to the Parish Council.

2.28 Helix also considered the specific issues associated with traffic

and the free-roaming cattle on Minchinhampton Common, and made recommendations to try to reduce the potential conflict, and indeed frequent accidents, between the cattle and the traffic using the roads, and the Cirencester Road in particular.

Drivers usually give way to cows, most accidents happen at night


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Natural Environment: Landscape, Ecology and Nature Conservation

2.29 Minchinhampton Parish lies almost entirely within the

Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (Map 2) and is renowned for its scenery, geology and ecology. Minchinhampton Common, a site of national importance, is owned by The National Trust and managed under the guidance of an Advisory Committee.

2.30 Information has been collated for the NDP from several

sources, including the 2016 Cotswolds AONB Landscape Strategy and Guidelines (LSG); as well as statutory and non-statutory data on nature conservation values, and local surveys undertaken by interested people. See Map 4 ‘Designated Sites and other known areas of probable high nature conservation value’

Landscape 2.31 The AONB LSG identifies land in Minchinhampton as falling

partly within Character zone 5 “Settled Valley”, covering the Nailsworth and Frome valleys; and partly in Zone 7 “High Wold”, covering the Common and plateau. The LSG document contains no detailed map boundaries between these zones, and appears mainly aimed at identifying typical problems in the relevant landscape types, rather than those specific to Minchinhampton.

2.32 The ‘Settled Valley’ zone is noted to be sensitive to urban

expansion and the loss of valley industrial heritage, which is a potential issue where Minchinhampton adjoins the A46. The

‘High Wold’ is said to contain many prehistoric monuments, of which Minchinhampton Common contains the most extensive area, designated as an Ancient Monument. It is also stated to be mainly arable, but within Minchinhampton there are significant areas of grassland, much of it old pasture and common.

Geological Conservation 2.33 Minchinhampton Common is an area of immense geological and

ecological diversity. The highest part of the Common, at about 190m above sea level, represents the best exposure in England of part of the Great Oolite, a series of limestones much quarried in the past.

2.34 Reservoir construction on the common lead to the discovery of

the ‘Minchinhampton Dinosaur’ Proceratosaurus, whose quite complete skull is the only known example of its species. In Victorian times, when many working quarries still provided exposures of the rock sequence, several local expert amateur palaeontologists undertook intensive research, particularly on gastropods and ammonites, and wrote several classic works on stratigraphy and palaeontology.

Photo skull


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2.35 One small relic of Gate Quarry survives on Minchinhampton

Common, although it does not provide a complete rock sequence; but many other quarries on the common were infilled with domestic waste from Stroud in the 1960’s, a process that the AONB LSG identifies as a threat to biodiversity. The Gloucestershire Geology Trust has suggested that the waste in the former Crane Quarry should be re-excavated and removed, providing a clean geological exposure of strata not exposed anywhere else in Britain, and this ambition has been informally endorsed by Natural England.

2.36 Former quarries and stone mines in the Inferior Oolite,

exploited for ragstones and freestone for building, are widespread. At Balls Green and elsewhere the stone was mined, and the tunnels running into the stone are used as roosts by several species of bats, especially Greater and Lesser Horseshoe Bats.

Nature Conservation 2.37 Minchinhampton common, is designated as a Site of Special

Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its limestone grasslands. Together with those of Rodborough Common (SSSI/Special Area of Conservation), they are well known for their rich flora with many orchids, juniper and other relict species including Pasque Flower; as well as a rich fungal flora. The grasslands and old quarries provide niches for many unusual insects, including Adonis Blue and Duke of Burgundy butterflies, and molluscs like the tiny Garlic Snail.

2.38 Besides the SSSI grasslands, the parish supports a rich variety of

other limestone grassland and neutral meadows. There are substantial areas of species-rich grassland south of Minchinhampton and west of Chapel Lane; east of the town on the south of Cirencester Rd; and in the Frome valley around Knapp Lane where there are fen-meadows with many springs.


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2.39 Key Wildlife Sites (KWS), assessed by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust (GWT) and notified by the Local Planning Authority (LPA). Neu Lynsey and Stuart Fawkes/Box Meadow are GWT Wildlife Trust Reserves. Ancient woodlands are normally also listed as KWS, and in Minchinhampton these include Cowcombe Wood, Hyde House Wood, Gatcombe Wood, and Box Woods (Holcombe), acquired by the Box Village Society, with help from the parish, in 2017. Records of flora and fauna are also held for Cowcombe Bank, Peaches Farm, and meadows around The Knapp.

2.40 The Gloucestershire Local Nature Partnership has included

many of the habitats in the parish within three Strategic Nature Areas; ‘Minchinhampton’, ‘Upper Hyde’, and ‘Box’; that form part of the ‘Cotswold Escarpment and Valleys’ (see Appendix 4). Information on the statutory SSSI, and non-statutory Key Wildlife Sites and other SNAs, has been collated with local surveys and knowledge from residents of the Parish, principally members of the Minchinhampton Walking & Wildlife Group.

2.41 The small streams that emerge as springs high up in the

margins of the plateau, especially to the south of the town, are highly calcareous and deposit tufa in their upper channels; the Cotswolds is one of the best areas in Britain for this feature. The streams form headwaters feeding the Nailsworth and Avening valley systems, parts of which are rare refuges for the threatened and declining White-clawed Crayfish, and, with their gathering grounds, are of significant conservation value.

2.42 Part of the Thames and Severn Canal, between the east end of Brimscombe Port and Hyde, lies within Minchinhampton and runs parallel with the River Frome in this area. The Frome also forms part of a recognised corridor of Biodiversity.

2.43 Old stone buildings of the area provide nesting or roosting sites

for many species of bats, including several less common bat species such as Greater and Lesser Horseshoe bats; and birds including Swifts, especially frequent in Minchinhampton town.

2.44 Minchinhampton Common is of outstanding value nationally,

but its conservation status is entirely dependent on the hundreds of cattle which graze it every summer. Around 450 cows are usually put out by local farmers with registered grazing rights, so that the success of grazing requires the continued existence of many other grassland sites to act as ‘run-back land’ (grazing land for cattle whilst off the Common); and many of the parish grasslands noted above function in this way.


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Map 4 Designated Sites and other known areas of probable Nature Conservation Value around the town


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Built Environment – Conservation Areas, Townscape, and Listed Buildings

2.45 Conservation Areas were first designated under the Civic

Amenities Act 1967 and updated last in 1990. Five Conservation Areas have been designated within Minchinhampton parish: Minchinhampton, Amberley, Box, and two of which are parts of the Stroud Valleys Industrial

2.46 Conservation area shown on Map 5. Listed buildings and

buildings assessed as of Heritage Asset status in Minchinhampton are shown on Map 6.

2.47 It is customary for each Conservation Area to have been the subject of a formal Statement by the Local Planning Authority, setting out the character of the Conservation Area and the features that should be respected in considering development or other changes.

2.48 No formal Conservation Area Statements currently exist for

any of the five Conservation Areas in Minchinhampton Parish. To partly remedy this, Appendix 3 contains informal descriptions intended to offer some guidance to any potential developer.

2.49 Outline guidance on Conservation Areas and townscape is

provided in Sections 3 and 4 Policy MP2, more detailed maps of each conservation area are given in the appendix. There are specific procedures for planning applications that affect Listed Buildings or their setting, and these are not discussed in this document.


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Map 5 Conservation Areas and Settlement Boundaries within the Parish of Minchinhampton


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Map 6 Listed buildings and buildings assessed as of Heritage Asset status in Minchinhampton

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3 ANALYSIS - DEFINING THE ISSUES Introduction - Analysing the information 3.1 The questionnaires for householders, community groups and

businesses, see Appendix 7 asked respondents to list their top three likes and dislikes about living, working and leisure time in the Parish. Grouping these responses together it was possible to plot the main themes and objectives of the respondents.

3.2 Although the weight of numbers supporting one or other

objectives was a key factor, the analysis was also alert to notable good ideas that had not necessarily been picked up by the majority. As a result the listed themes and objectives below are a blend arrived at and agreed by the various members of the steering group. The steering group has a wide and diverse range of interests and skills unified by their commitment to making the Parish of Minchinhampton a better place to live, work and play in.

Issues and Objectives

3.3 The sub-groups of the Steering Group identified the common issues and themes emerging from the consultations and surveys.

Issues identified in the consultations - listed in no particular order

• Traffic Circulation, Congestion and Parking Provision

• Protecting grazing animals from traffic

• Traffic, speeding and the impact on the residents

• Viability of Minchinhampton Centre

• Sustainability of business and employment

• Speculative applications for development

• Providing Affordable Housing for young people to stay in Minchinhampton

• Retention and location of the Doctors Surgery

• Maintaining the Commons and other special landscapes and habitats

• Re-opening of the Crown pub

• Maintenance of Roads Broader Issues identified by the Steering Group

1. Coherence and functionality of central Minchinhampton

2. Funding to support environmental quality in town and countryside

3. Maintaining local employment in the Parish with improvements communications and facilities


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How these issues are inter-connected: Creating a Vision for the Plan

3.4 The individual issues noted above are closely connected. For example; keeping an active centre including: pub, shops, offices, cafes, Parish Church, library and doctors’ surgery in the centre of Minchinhampton and managing traffic circulation of all these crucial elements to retain a vibrant and functional town centre. Reducing speeding traffic helps with road safety in the villages and hamlets in the Parish, and supports the Commons.

3.5 The NDP is primarily for the local community, but an increasing

number of tourists visit the Common, the town, villages and hamlets; and the provision of facilities and services must be sufficient to attract tourists to visit local historical sites, shops, cafes, restaurants and to stay in local accommodation.

3.6 In writing the Plan, the opportunity has therefore been taken

to group these specific issues and develop a number of Themes:

A. Providing affordable housing for people who need it B. Keeping Minchinhampton a busy, well-functioning, and

attractive town C. Allowing sufficient growth to support the Viability of the

Town D. Managing traffic circulation and parking

E. Improving road safety for all road users whether on foot, bicycle, horseback or in vehicles by reducing speed of traffic

F. Protecting the character of the town and villages

G. Protecting and supporting the management of the Natural Environment, including the Common and its grazing animals, and other species-rich habitats

H. Supporting business needs in the Parish to encourage retention and growth of employment opportunities thus reducing the need for residents to commute away from the area.

- and in each of these themes, questions of policy, specific

proposals, and potential sources of funding have all been considered.


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THEME A. Providing affordable housing for single and couples both younger and older

3.7 The current recorded need of at least 24 people for affordable housing, noted above (para 2.10), may be regarded as a minimum, because the response rate was only a little over 30%. There is also uncertainty as to how the need will change over the plan period of the NDP.

3.8 To provide for any further affordable housing that might

become necessary during the (NDP) Plan period an exceptions policy MP3 based upon Local Plan Policy HC4 is included in Section 4 of the NDP. The policy notes that sites should be quite small in scale both to recognise the limitations of the services and facilities to be found in the Parish and to minimise the effect of development on the character, appearance and environment of the area.

3.9 Such sites should ideally be located within easy walking

distance of the essential facilities of the centre of Minchinhampton and other village and hamlet settlements; preferably within 800 metres of the Minchinhampton Market House or within 800 metres of Brimscombe Corner. Policy MP3, in Section 4, sets out that the NDP considers that a rate of about 5 new affordable dwellings per year is an appropriate and sustainable rate of provision. Clearly the actual development may comprise more houses in fewer years, or vice versa, depending upon the identification of suitable land.

THEME B. Keeping Minchinhampton a Busy, Well-Functioning, and Attractive Town

3.10 A well functioning town is a safe environment, small enough to reach all the facilities by walking, convenient to visit, park and walk. Businesses and facilities require a critical number of customers and users to maintain viability, and this needs to be balanced against demands on space, school places, and so on. This NDP considers the need to maintain the vibrancy of the town. This required review of several factors; centrality of services such a library and surgery, rates of population growth, traffic circulation, and protection of shops, cafes, restaurants and the pub.


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Centrality and the need to keep facilities together 3.11 Many of the issues raised during consultations relate to the

desire to keep the facilities that make Minchinhampton a busy, friendly town with a wide range of services. The centre of town is an easily walkable area, with shops, cafes, churches, social club, doctors’ surgery, library and Market House. Furthermore, its character is set by the presence of the Market House and The Cross, Holy Trinity Church and when open, the Crown, which has been recorded as a facility of recognised importance – a community asset - by the District Council.

3.12 The centrality of these facilities is a critical part of the

sustainability and character of Minchinhampton and the uses within this important zone should ideally remain as a walkable

coherent whole. This coherence of the existing uses would be

adversely affected if any one of the uses was to migrate further afield in the settlement.

3.13 In this respect, the surgery was purpose-built in 1971, the

present building has long been considered inadequate, with 31 patients per sq. metre compared to a typical new build with 10 to 12 patients/sq. m. Currently 7,523 patients are registered, of whom 48% live outside the parish, and appointments average 730 a week, with peak hours from 08.30 to 11.00 am and 3.45 to 18.00 pm.

3.14 The NDP surveys showed that the Minchinhampton Surgery is

a much appreciated practice and people expressed a strong desire to retain a surgery in Minchinhampton. The practice is a commercial enterprise owned by the partners, and is funded by the NHS.

3.15 This NDP recognises that any new surgery premises are funded through the NHS and to a very specific time scale to meet NHS funding availability. It is also recognises that the surgery continues to work closely with its funders to bring


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enhanced facilities to the Parish and beyond. Wherever the surgery is located within the Parish the NDP policy for development will specifically be required to consider traffic management and parking near a new building.

3.16 A review of traffic circulation in the town centre would need to include a possible one-way system to resolve the current inadequate provision of school access and parking using Cambridge Way.

Educational Provision 3.17 The parish of Minchinhampton supports 3 highly regarded C of

E Primary schools, of which one, in Minchinhampton, is now an Academy, with a capacity for 315 pupils. Each of the schools at Amberley and Brimscombe with 105 places, giving a total of 525. Amberley and Brimscombe are Voluntary Aided schools funded by the Local education Authority. As an Academy Minchinhampton is funded direct from the Department of Education.

Photo school

3.18 Our schools are one of the most important functions in the parish, and places are in high demand by younger families moving into the area. As the current national number of five year olds has peaked it may be presumed there is probably sufficient capacity for the foreseeable future; however at present movement of families into the area does cause challenges for years 3 & 4. Each school monitors its admissions policy with great care.

3.19 Development within neighbouring Parishes, is likely to have

an impact upon the need for additional pupil capacity, and co-ordination with Brimscombe and Thrupp is particularly critical.

3.20 All the schools support the local economy by employing staff,

using maintenance services, and making use of the Post Office and food for catering from local businesses. Equally, all schools make their facilities available to the wider public out of school hours. Annual events include Christmas carols in Market Square, the Firework display, and Amberley ‘Cow hunt’.

3.21 All the schools have significant impacts on local traffic and

parking at drop off and collect times. It is a critical aspect of this NDP to develop proposals that will ease the traffic conflicts associated with two-way traffic through the Narows in Butt Street, and Bell Lane. This NDP has identified the components of possible solutions, and these are set out in the Implementation Section 5.


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The Crown 3.22 The Crown Inn is a critical aspect of the town centre, that has

been unavailable to the townspeople and visitors for several years. The absence of the pub has undoubtedly reduced the feeling of a focus within the public realm of the upper high street and Market Square. Recent attempts to revive a lease have proved unsuccessful, and the owners, Enterprise Inns, have not made rapid progress with alternatives. Given the pressure on pubs nationally, the Parish Council has secured for the pub the status of an “Asset of Community Interest” (February 2015).

3.23 An important element of the future of the town centre is the

physical relationship between the Crown Inn and adjoining uses and structures, including The Cross. Redesign of the Market Square, at some point and under conditions of less traffic, offers the opportunity to create a greater sitting area

in front of the pub and cafes, as was envisaged in an earlier design study.

THEME C. Allowing Sufficient Future Growth of the Town to

Maintain Viability 3.24 A crucial aspect of planning, that causes considerable public

debate, and requires recognition of a wide range of issues and interests, is the question of provision for future growth of the town. The Stroud Local Plan and this NDP review housing provision in the context of the whole of the parish; but in terms of matching facilities with the scale of future growth in population, the principal issue lie in the town of Minchinhampton itself.

3.25 This NDP envisages organic growth in the outlying settlements

of Box and Amberley and their hamlets. The current SDLP plan period makes only one allocation in Minchinhampton parish, at Wimberley Mill. As discussed at 2.14 above, this site is likely to be expensive to develop, and is poorly located in relation to Minchinhampton town.

3.26 Maintaining the viability, facilities and vibrancy of

Minchinhampton town is critical to this Plan, and it is therefore necessary to consider the sources of trade and finance that will support the local economy. Several businesses have been lost in recent years, and those that have replaced them, such as the bridal and leather goods businesses, which cater for a wide market. Within the High Street there remain several opportunities for a variety of new shops to service local needs.


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3.27 Service businesses, such as the cafes and restaurants, require

a substantial footfall, and that in turn requires a significant, and growing, population, with easy access on foot and by car to the town centre. Paragraphs below examine the changes that will be needed to facilitate this accessibility.

3.28 Changes to road layouts, signage, and road surfaces to indicate

speed control, and additional matters such as the question of developing a shared space’ in the High Street, will require funding. The possible funding sources for this are discussed in section 6, but broadly include; Parish reserves, funds derived from an increase in the precept; bequests, repayable loans from the Public Works Board, and contributions of funds or ‘works in kind’ from development projects.

3.29 The balance between such types of contribution is discussed

further in Section 6 Implementation, but it must be noted that over the last decade or so, whilst substantial development has taken place in the Parish, its financial contributions to community facilities have been limited. The rate of development over the last few decades has averaged 12 dwellings per year. The Wimberley allocation now being implemented thus reflects about 9 or 10 years growth, whilst contributing little to the vitality of the town or parish.

3.30 This lack of contributions has largely reflected that there have

been few or no projects identified within the parish to which such developments could be asked to contribute. Overcoming this is a crucial advantage of the NDP process, and it is

therefore essential that any developments contribute to the community development projects of the parish and deliver outcomes within an agreed timescale (Section 5).

3.31 The timing, content, and scale of individual development

projects is of great importance to the question of securing positive outcomes for the parish. The rate of delivery of the outcomes set out in this NDP is directly related to the quantum of development that is consented.

3.32 This NDP is not proposing any specific scale or rate of

development, but recognises that if development does come forward, from either allocations in the Local Plan, or ad hoc proposals, it is crucial that the community should have determined what outcomes are appropriate and any benefits that derive there from.


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3.33 It is therefore essential that the policies in the NDP should set out the relationship between developments and agreed outcomes, whilst ensuring that such developments are compatible with the other policies of the NDP. Section 4 of the NDP contains policy MP 1, broadly addressing the circumstances in and criteria against which future development proposals in the Parish will be considered by the Parish Council

THEME D. Managing Traffic Circulation and Parking 3.34 Minchinhampton Parish is crossed by several busy roads that

serve the town and villages, and carry significant traffic between Cirencester, Stroud, Nailsworth, Avening, Tetbury, Junction 13 of the M5 and beyond, especially at peak times. Traffic on the Cirencester Road across Minchinhampton Common has increased significantly since the roundabout on the A419 at Aston Down was installed, effectively encouraging the use of this route rather than the policy-preferred route through the Golden Valley. High traffic speeds across the Common are associated with numerous cattle deaths every year.

3.35 Within Minchinhampton town itself there are narrow

bottlenecks which cause congestion at peak times – for example in West End, Butt Street and Bell Lane. Parking in the town centre and in the surrounding villages is poorly managed, with adverse effects on residents, businesses and local amenities.

3.36 The parish is poorly served by public transport, increasing the

reliance of residents on private vehicles. With a growing and ageing population, the need for quality non-car access opportunities, designed to accommodate the mobility impaired and children in pushchairs, can only increase.

3.37 Helix’s Transport Appraisal Report concludes that the existing

situation in the parish discourages non-motorised trips. The principal reason for this is that there are relatively few

footways, even in the built-up areas, and those that are provided are often very narrow. The creation of an inclusive and connected community lies at the heart of the recommendations made by the Helix report, which identified in detail many issues of concern to residents in all the wards in the Parish; and has proposed potential solutions.

3.38 The NDP Steering Group has accepted many of the general

recommendations of the report, and recommends that the Parish Council also accept the findings, with a view to working with Gloucestershire County Council and other relevant agencies to address these issues through an agreed and prioritised improvement programme as part of their strategy.

3.39 The NDP therefore seeks to alleviate the adverse effects of

traffic, improve traffic circulation and the management of parking. In addition to these matters, the NDP seeks to address aspects such as walking, cycling, horse riding, disabled access, and measures to protect the free-ranging cows roaming the Common.


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3.40 The NDP identifies specific projects that, over time, will improve matters for those living, visiting or working in the parish. The Parish Council will seek to promote such works to improve safety, traffic circulation and parking.

3.41 The NDP recognises that the traffic and road safety issues are

not new, and aims to ensure that these issues are properly considered in any future developments, whether or not such developments contribute physically or financially towards them.

Parking provision 3.42 Parking provision has been identified previously and in the

latest surveys as being a serious concern for residents, shoppers, local businesses and visitors to the parish. Each community has its own particular problems but, as the key areas of the various communities that make up the parish were largely established in tight compact settlements before the advent of the motor car, all the wards of the parish have parking issues.

3.43 Parking is required for residents and businesses with no off-

street parking, for shoppers, for schools and for visitors, whilst maintaining viable traffic routes through each community. The parking requirements of these different groups are different in terms of timing and duration. Parking is difficult and chaotic near the schools in the parish at the beginning and end of the schooldays. This is potentially dangerous for those being delivered/collected and causes traffic disruption in the local area for all road users.

3.44 Sufficient short-term parking for shoppers needs to be

provided close to the shops in the parish – if they are to survive as viable businesses. To enable this to happen, there needs to be enough off-street parking available during the day for those residents (and business employees) who do not have their own off-street parking, so that spaces for shoppers and visitors, are not “blocked” by residents.

3.45 Parking surveys have been conducted in the centre of

Minchinhampton town approximately every five years since 2005, the last being in October 2016. All three surveys note that if the parking provision was better managed, and on-street parking restrictions enforced, then there is sufficient parking for shoppers within a reasonable walking distance of the centre of the town.


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3.46 Despite Minchinhampton Post Office moving a few years ago from Tetbury Street into the High Street, the dedicated short-term parking spaces have not followed suit. This has increased the number of cars that park on double yellow lines at the bottom of the High Street, which can cause difficulties for large vehicles and buses turning from or into West End at The Cross.

3.48 Residents of Box, Amberley and other smaller hamlets have

particular difficulty parking due to their very narrow roads; any development in these communities must not be allowed to make the situation worse.

3.47 The fundamental cause of the congestion and lack of

shopping car park spaces is that other than the areas marked by double yellow lines, there is no limit on how long a car can be left parked in the High Street, and many of the vehicles are

residents’ cars left for long periods. Creation of more residents’ spaces off-street, and the establishment of time limits on the spaces in the High Street, would be possible solutions.

Photo

Public transport 3.49 The public transport currently available within the parish is

limited in locations served and frequency of services. For example only one bus service per week to Cirencester.

3.50 School buses operate from the parish taking students to and

from Marling, Stroud High, Thomas Keble, William Romney, Cirencester Deer Park and several private schools.

3.51 The meagre provision of bus services, un-coordinated with

other services running further afield, means that the majority of residents have to rely on their own private vehicles to get to work outside the parish, to go shopping in the larger centres or to travel to (relatively) local railway stations at Stroud or Kemble.


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Theme E. Improving road safety for all road users whether on foot, bicycle, horseback or in vehicles by reducing speed of traffic

3.52 The speed and volume of traffic is one of the main concerns

of residents in all five wards of the parish, in the parish-wide survey undertaken in October 2016.

3.53 Traffic regularly exceeding the current speed limits is

particularly noted on Cirencester Road across the Common, on Brimscombe Hill, Hampton Fields and on Tetbury Street past the allotments, but in many other locations in the parish it is perceived that the traffic is travelling too fast, given the narrowness of the road, poor sightlines and the close proximity to pedestrians on narrow or non-existent pavements.

3.54 The current speed limits on certain roads are inappropriately

high for those locations, especially across the Common when the cattle are roaming free and are difficult to see after dark. The speed of traffic travelling on Brimscombe Hill is a danger to those accessing properties adjacent to the road.

3.55 Poor sightlines and inconsiderate parking result in vehicles

mounting the pavement, endangering pedestrians (especially where the roads are effectively one-way and pavements are narrow) in Minchinhampton town centre, particularly West End, Tetbury Street, Well Hill, High Street, Butt Street and Friday Street.

3.56 The traffic using the Tetbury Street/West End - East/West axis as a “rat run” causes frequent congestion and potential danger for residents and pedestrians, regularly at the beginning and end of the school day during term time. Larger vehicles also using this route can cause particular problems due to the narrowness of the roads (making long lengths effectively one-way working) and with poor sightlines.

3.57 The busy natural crossing point across Cirencester Road at the

top of Butt Street for pedestrians, dog walkers and horse riders has very poor sightlines and the provision of a controlled crossing would be of significant benefit for those crossing the road. It would also have the benefit of slowing down traffic as they approached the crossing point. Add photo?


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Road maintenance 3.58 The present very poor state of the roads in the parish,

currently managed by Amey on behalf of GCC, is a major concern to residents. The many potholes cause damage to tyres, wheels and suspension. Their location coincides, unsurprisingly, with the normal tracks followed by vehicles’ wheels, and also with the margins of previous repairs or utility trench works. There are also issues with poor road foundations, which may be broken up by water running beneath the tarmac. Once a pothole has formed, drivers tend to steer or swerve to avoid it, putting the vehicle out of position on the road and causing a potential danger to other road users.

3.59 Repairs to potholes appear to have a short life, especially

when the repair overlaps with previous repairs. There appears to be little co-ordinated attempt to resurface larger areas so that they do not become potholed, and resurfacing works, when undertaken, are often of poor quality. The good quality re-surfacing of Hyde Hill was a notable exception.

3.60 Cyclists are particularly vulnerable to damage accidents and

injury through hitting potholes or having to take avoiding action to try to miss a pothole or series of potholes. National Cycle Route No. 45 runs through the parish. In the length running along Well Hill and New Road the road is particularly prone to potholes putting the steady number of cyclists travelling NCR 45 to avoidable and unnecessary risk. Add photos

Cycling

3.61 Local residents cycle regularly around the parish – for pleasure, for shopping and for commuting. Secure and convenient parking facilities provided for cyclists, in the centres of the various communities that make up the parish, would encourage more people to cycle as an alternative to using a car. This would benefit the community and the individual.

3.62 National Cycle Route No. 45 passes through the parish and

attracts a steady number of visiting cyclists. The current state of the roads and the poor parking arrangement of vehicles on certain streets do not act as encouragement for these cyclists. In addition this lack of cycle infrastructure within Minchinhampton Town does not lend itself to these cyclists breaking their journey to visit the shops or cafes, which is a missed opportunity to help those businesses remain sustainable. Add photos

3.63 In addition to those cyclists following NCR No. 45 (along

Tetbury St. and Well Hill) local cycling groups regularly tour the parish’s communities and Minchinhampton Town and would be encouraged to stay longer if dedicated cycle parking facilities were available.


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Policy Approach

3.64 In the light of the discussion above, the NDP proposes Policy 9 to recognise that future developments, as well as on-going funding from other sources such as Gloucestershire Highways, contribute to the supply of parking, as well as to improvements to traffic management and road safety.

Public Rights of Way (PROW)

3.65 Minchinhampton Parish’s footpaths and bridleways are a beneficial feature of the parish, linking outlying hamlets to the town. It is important to retain the sense of peace and tranquility, as well as the enjoyment of the surrounding countryside, that these footpaths and bridleways provide. They are a valuable recreational resource, enjoyed by residents and visitors alike.

3.66 Responsibility for monitoring and maintaining these footpaths and bridleways lies primarily with Gloucestershire County Council, but the Parish Council and relevant landowners take a responsibility to preserve these valuable community assets.

3.67 Particular attention is drawn to Section 7 of DEFRA Rights of

Way Circular 1/09 which advises that in considering potential revisions to an existing right of way to accommodate new development, any alternative alignment should avoid the use of estate roads and preference be given to paths through landscaped or open space areas away from vehicular traffic.

3.68 Policy MP 10, in Section 4, seeks to ensure that footpaths and bridleways retain a sense of tranquility and visual enjoyment even if development should occur nearby. In such circumstances the opportunity should be taken to route them through landscaped wildlife areas.

THEME F. Protecting the Character of Town and Villages 3.69 The essential character of the whole of the Parish of

Minchinhampton is a mixture of exceptionally high landscape value combined with a uniformity of style and materials used in the tight and compact layouts of the settlements whether they be small hamlets or the larger settlements of Minchinhampton, Amberley, Box and Brimscombe.

3.70 Minchinhampton hosts a large number of listed buildings, as

well as conservation areas, significant buildings and street frontages that help to define the character of the Parish. The sharp contrast between tightly knit settlements immediately


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giving way to open countryside is a key feature of the many settlements within the Parish.

Conservation Areas 3.71 The 5 Conservation Areas in the Parish were noted at

paragraph 2.40 above. Statements describing their character are set put at Appendix 3.

3.72 Conservation Areas are a mixture of styles, reflecting different

periods, influences and resources. This eclectic approach is often what gives a Conservation Area its distinctive flavour, and it is important not to reject contemporary solutions per se. That said, distinctive character can be defined by analysis, and therefore describe a framework in which development can be considered, by working with the grain, or texture, of a place.

3.73 The character and appearance of a Conservation Area can be

affected, either adversely or beneficially by the slow processes of erosion and lack of maintenance, and by inappropriate new buildings. Mechanisms exist for the control of the design and massing of built development in Conservation Areas, and the Planning Acts give an opportunity to individuals and consultee agencies the chance to express a view, before any alteration is authorised.

3.74 Often the works undertaken by utility companies and the

highway authority may be outside such control, but can have significant influence. The impact of parked and moving vehicles cannot be readily or easily managed in historic environments.

3.75 Sympathetic design with respect to the immediate

environment will be considered by the Parish Council as the benchmark of each development proposal; the approach that is appropriate on one building may be different on its neighbour. Scale, materials, and sympathetic detailing will be important considerations, as will concerns around over-looking, proximity and etc.

Minchinhampton Market House, and Parish Halls 3.76 The Market House is a unique building, contributing greatly to

the character of the town centre. It is a treasured asset in need of improvements to its accessibility and facilities. The Market House has had limited investment over the years resulting in deterioration of the building and its facilities. Access does not comply with the 2010 Equality Act and space is poorly designed.


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3.77 New investment is necessary for the Market House to address its maintenance as a historic building of architectural significance and continue to make it available in its many roles for the community. Minchinhampton Market House Trustees aim to revitalise this unique building and re-establish it as a part of the town's vital social and cultural centre, with modern facilities for the community and visitors, whilst preserving its heritage.

3.78 The Trustees aim to secure funding for such improvements

from a wide range of sources. There are proposals for its multi-use to provide facilities for the parish and visitors. The Market House should be considered in the context of environmental improvements to the Market Square generally.

3.79 Other village halls are located in Amberley (in association with

the parish church), Box and Brimscombe (not within the parish). These buildings are relatively modern facilities and do not present the same special challenges as the Market House in Minchinhampton, but nevertheless are of significance to the local communities that they serve.

THEME G. Protecting and Managing the Natural Environment of the Common and its grazing animals, and other areas of high Biodiversity

3.80 Future protection and management of Minchinhampton’s

natural environment will need to be carefully integrated with other policies and proposals in the NDP, and be consistent with SDC Local Plan policies ES6 and ES7. The principal areas of concern are; ensuring that future development does not cause direct harm to features and areas of high biodiversity, and; protection of the Common and its stock.

Protecting the Common 3.81 The critical importance of the Common has led to considerable

efforts to manage the habitats it contains, and to improve the protection of the grazing cattle against accidents with vehicles. Each year a number of cows are killed, the majority at certain points on the road and in the dark in autumn. It is important to reduce this impact, because if graziers do not put out their stock the Common will cease to be so biodiverse.


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3.82 Many measures have been promoted or tried to slow traffic, by changing the surface or alignment of the roads across the Common, and improving signage and speed monitoring, or efforts to make the cattle more visible with fluorescent materials. Experiments have been carried out with average speed cameras and number plate recognition and appear promising.

3.83 The Parish Council will work with the Highway Authority, who

have started their own road safety ‘Cows on the Common’ project, and with the National Trust and the police, to try to reduce animal deaths.

Planning for Wildlife 3.84 Over the NDP plan period, it is likely that development

proposals will emerge either de novo or because of allocations by SDC, or iterations of the NDP itself. It is therefore desirable to identify those areas within the parish that, on present evidence, are subject to ecological constraints that are likely to prevent development, if local and national policies are upheld and if the biodiversity of Minchinhampton parish is to be conserved and enhanced in line with NPPF Paras 117 and 118.

3.85 Map 4 shows some of the locations around Minchinhampton

town that are already known or suspected to support complex vegetation communities, or particular species of plants or animals of nature conservation significance, in a local or District context. Additional survey work would normally be necessary to confirm the level of constraint and identify measures that the parish council could require, through SDC,

to mitigate the effects of development and propose positive measures to expand and manage the natural environment.

3.86 NDP Policy MP 5, below, is aimed at ensuring that these non-

designated sites that support complex habitats, or protected species are adequately considered by the District Council

3.87 Many of the buildings in the parish, and especially the old stone

buildings, provide nesting or roosting sites for protected speciues such as bats, or valued species like Swifts, which can be seen in the town centre and elsewhere.

Preventing harm to Landscape Character 3.88 The consultations for this NDP strongly indicates that the

respondents value the mixture of landscape value and character of the settlements within it, and that any form of development within the Parish whether for new housing, employment, alteration to existing structures should be fully tested to ensure that it enhances the existing character of the landscape and adjoining settlements.

3.89 It should be noted that Stroud Local Plan Policy ES7 states that

in accordance with national policy, any ‘major development’ in the AONB will not be permitted unless it is in the national interest. The term ‘major’ is not defined, but it should be noted that any development around Minchinhampton would be within the AONB. Policy MP6 deals with the landscape issues.


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THEME H. Supporting business needs in the Parish to encourage retention and growth of employment opportunities

Historical Perspective 3.90 Lying between Stroud and Cirencester, the Parish of

Minchinhampton reflects the influences of these two significant towns in the county, and has a long history of business and employment centred around agriculture, woollen mills and engineering. Over the past fifty years there have been great changes in employment within the Parish. There are no longer any working woollen mills, the number of working farms has declined significantly, and engineering businesses have changed to reflect the growing need for high technology solutions. architectural

3.91 With faster and more diverse means of communications the increase in people working from home has been significant. A large number of small start-up businesses have been established based around digital communications rather than being based in established centres of population. Nevertheless the number of people commuting to their place of work outside the Parish or outside the District has also increased with the consequence of greater traffic congestion and pollution.

3.92 From the survey of existing businesses within the Parish

conducted in October to December 2016 there was no identified need expressed for additional land to be given over to employment use. Redevelopment or intensifications of use

within the above areas was considered adequate to meet foreseeable employment use. The cost in terms of rents charged within the existing stock of business and employment use was not a limiting factor for any businesses wishing to grow.

3.93 The main concerns expressed by businesses in the responses to the survey centred around the need for better levels of communications infrastructure in particular:

• Faster, better and greater capacity of broadband

• Improved mobile telephone signal coverage 3.94 For retail businesses, improvement in parking facilities for

customers was a significant issue potentially affecting long term viability of their businesses.

Creating Employment 3.95 Employment is key to a thriving community; where people

work is a major determinant of where they live. Stroud district is a net exporter of labour of about 22% (SDC Local Plan) exacerbated by the easy motorway access. This is a marker of limited community sustainability and increased reliance on the motorcar. An aim of the plan for the Parish over the next 20 years, should be to take careful account of new local employment opportunities that reduce commuting and ensure there is a balance between increasing employment and increasing housing numbers for the Parish.


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3.96 At present it is relatively easy to commute out of Minchinhampton to work. Transport links are good to the Parish with the M5 motorway junction 13 to the West, a railway station just 4 miles away in Stroud, and other nearby centres of employment.

Potential Employment Areas 3.97 There are areas of land recognised in the Local Plan as

designated for employment use within the Parish; notably:

• Along the Cirencester Road to the east of Minchinhampton

• The former Aston Down airbase

• Brimscombe valley adjoining the areas of employment land in Brimscombe and Thrupp Parish

• Nailsworth valley adjoining the area of employment land in Nailsworth Parish

3.98 Whilst these are intended to serve the district as a whole they

also provide employment opportunities for Minchinhampton Parish residents. Employment land allocated within the Stroud Local Plan exceeds the forecast growth in employment figures, and therefore no further allocations of employment land have been made through the NDP for Minchinhampton Parish.

3.99 There is a strong base of relatively small businesses in the

Parish, and the majority of local jobs are provided by small employers and self-employment. A general relaxation of business use classes for existing buildings and buildings of heritage value would be desirable to encourage more small

and start-up businesses to stay within the Parish. There is also a national trend, fuelled by increasingly sophisticated technology for homeworking. This is regarded as sustainable and something that should be encouraged as set out in Policies MP7 and MP8.

Communications 3.100 In harmony with this NDP’s encouragement of proposals for

the conversion of existing dwellings or conversion of outbuildings to provide space for increased home-working, and for the conversion of disused agricultural and other rural buildings of traditional sound construction for small business use, it is essential that those homeworkers and small businesses have access to the communications facilities necessary to meet their business needs and that minimise the need for successful home-workers or small businesses to have need to commute out of the parish or to relocate to better connected dwellings or premises.

3.101 Continued growth in the use of 4G cell phones and fibre fixed

lines to access the Internet is looked upon as being an important criterion when choosing where to live, and has become critical for home workers, schools, institutions and businesses. Good connectivity is therefore essential if the parish of Minchinhampton is to attract and retain permanent residents of working or school age, home workers, businesses and services that together form a thriving, dynamic community.


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3.102 Minchinhampton was one of the first communities to engage with a telecoms company (Vodafone) and positively encourage the installation of their Rural Open Sure Signal equipment around the town centre. This particular technology remains limited however by both its geographical coverage and restriction to 3G, so similarly innovative technology should be encouraged to provide full coverage by all the main suppliers throughout the parish – particularly to current cell phone “not spots” and those areas still enduring only slow or even no broadband offerings.

Conclusions of the Analysis 3.103 The analysis above suggest that policies are required for the

protection of the environment and the character of the settlements within the parish, whilst allowing for the sustainable growth of the town, to ensure the survival and success of its businesses. Policies aimed to achieve these objectives are set out in Section 4.

2243/reports/216 e * PRE – SUBMISSION ISSUE V1.0* Creating the Plan 10.11.17

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4 DEVELOPING THE PLAN – POLICIES 4.1 The NDP comprises both Policies and Proposals. This Section

sets out the Policies that are considered to provide a balanced and flexible approach to the future of Minchinhampton, and provide local detail and clarity to support the Local Plan policies. They allow the Parish Council to use its judgment and initiative to make proposals or comment on development proposed by others, for the long term benefit of the health of the Parish.

4.2 The Plan incorporates the key principles from the National

Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that there should be a presumption in favour of sustainable development.

There are three dimensions to sustainable development:

economic, social and environmental, which give rise to the need for the planning system to perform a number of roles:

• An economic role – contributing to building a strong, responsive and competitive economy, by ensuring that sufficient land of the right type is available in the right places and at the right time to support growth and innovation; and by identifying and co-ordinating development requirements, including the provision of infrastructure.

• A social role – supporting strong, vibrant and healthy communities, by providing the supply of housing required to meet the needs of present and future generations; and by creating a high quality built

environment, with accessible local services that reflect the community’s needs eg. Through supporting a good broadband facility, its health, social and cultural well-being.

• An environmental role – contributing to protecting and enhancing environment; and, as part of this, helping to improve biodiversity, use natural resources prudently, minimise waste and pollution, and mitigate and adapt to climate change including moving to a low carbon economy.

4.3 The policies in this NDP are in accord with the principles of

sustainable development, including making best use of existing sites, supporting the viability and vitality of the Minchinhampton town centre and the wider Parish area, in particular The Common (a Site of Special Scientific Interest), reducing the need to travel, promoting healthy forms of travel, promoting accessible green space and carbon-neutral development.

4.4 The policies are cross referenced, to the relevant Stroud Local

Plan policy, as at December 2015, for which the NDP provides more detail. All of the policies must be read together and alongside the Local Plan. All policies must be complied with where relevant to the proposed development.

4.5 As part of the deregulation agenda, government periodically

amends the planning system to remove the requirement for planning permission for various changes of use. Such amendments may continue through the life of this Plan.


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Where planning permission is not required for a change of use developers are encouraged to have regard to the key aims of this Plan especially in relation to accessibility and design and the public realm to help support the delivery of the vision.

This NDP therefore adopts the following Policies POLICY MP 1 New development

Applications for proposed new development that supports and enhances the infrastructure as set out in Policies MP8 and MP9 and does not conflict with Nature Conservation policy MP4, and Landscape Policy MP5, will be supported, where the proposal

• Demonstrates a high standard of design that respects and reinforces local distinctiveness and character through attention to matters of scale, density, massing, height, use of natural materials, landscape layout and access.

• Respects the natural environment, terrain and demonstrates how it might be enhanced through the incorporation of natural existing features such as trees, hedges, protected wildlife habitats, adjoining Key Wildlife Sites, wildlife corridors and water courses.

• Optimises the potential of the site to accommodate development incorporating green spaces appropriate to the scale of the development

• Respects the setting of Listed Buildings and buildings considered to be heritage assets and significant buildings and street frontages.

• Respects the integrity, character and appearance of designated Conservation Areas and provide good broadband facilities for homes and businesses.

POLICY MP 2 Conservation area development In addition to the policies set out in the Stroud Local Plan applications for development within Conservation areas in the Parish should give consideration to enhancing fabric protection to non-listed buildings. POLICY MP 3 Affordable Housing Provision

The Parish need for affordable housing has been identified through a Local Housing Needs Survey (2016) based upon this evidence a projection of 5 dwellings per year is considered appropriate to meet anticipated need in future years.

Planning applications for small scale affordable housing sites

adjoining the sustainable settlements within the Parish of Minchinhampton to meet the need identified above will be supported providing the criteria of Local Plan Policy HC4 are met

Where new development is assessed under Policy MP1 above,

affordable housing provision should be ‘pepperpotted’ within the new development.


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POLICY MP 4 Nature Conservation The Parish Council will support the approach set out in NPPF para 117, which requires development to provide biodiversity enhancement where possible, and in Local Plan policy ES6, and will:

• Seek the protection and practical conservation of statutorily designated sites, non-statutory Key Wildlife Sites, and other Priority habitats including ancient woodlands, grasslands of high biodiversity, watercourses and their catchments

• Support development that is consistent with other policies of the NDP, and respects the natural environment by enhancing and re-connecting existing natural features such as trees, hedges, protected wildlife habitats, adjoining Key Wildlife Sites, wildlife corridors and water courses.

• Assist the District Council to identify such Priority Habitats locally

• Require developments to demonstrate that the conservation status of Protected species will be maintained, including protection of their foraging habitat

• Support projects, policies, and administrative measures to secure the long-term future of grazing on Minchinhampton Common, including traffic control measures and the protection of run-back grazing land (grazing land for cattle whilst off the Common) within the parish

POLICY MP 5 Landscape Conservation The Parish Council will support the approach set out in the Local Plan and will:

• seek to ensure that decisions on new development have regard to SDC policy ES7 Landscape Character, including the use of appropriate materials, whilst recognising that within the parish of Minchinhampton some development within the AONB may be necessary

• Support the approach in Local Plan Policy ES8 for the enhancement and expansion of the Parish’s tree and woodland resource

POLICY MP 6 Business and Employment Development proposals which are in scale with the rural nature of the Parish and within designated employment land areas and which create, expand and generally help develop business initiatives will be supported subject to there being no significant adverse impact on neighbouring properties, or the locality in general, by reason of such things as noise, fumes,


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odour or other nuisances and traffic related nuisance or visual impact. We particularly encourage proposals for:

• The alteration of existing dwellings to provide space for home-working

• The conversion of disused agricultural and other rural buildings or traditional sound construction for small business use

• Changes to planning business use classes for existing buildings to support small and growing start up or established businesses.

• The loss of existing shops cafes restaurants pubs and business premises, particularly those that offer a community service, will be resisted unless permitted under other policies in the NDP.

Policy MP 7 Working from Home Planning applications will be supported for the use of part of a dwelling for office and/or light industrial uses and for small scale free standing buildings within its curtilage, extensions to the dwelling or conversion of outbuildings for those uses provided that:

• No significant and adverse impact arises to nearby residents or properties from noise, fumes, odour or other nuisance associated with the work activity;

• Any extension or free standing building shall be designed having regard to policies in this Plan and should not detract from the quality and character of the building to which they are subservient by reason of height, scale, massing, location or the facing materials used in their construction.

Policy MP 8 Traffic, Transport and Parking Planning applications for developments with any impact on

local road networks should be accompanied by a Transport Statement. This Statement should clearly identify the travel, transport and road safety issues associated with the proposed development and take into account the particular challenges that affect the Parish and demonstrate how it will contribute, enhance and improve the local transportation environment, including parking and road safety.

Development proposals should:

• be well located to reduce reliance on private cars

• provide safe and convenient walking and cycling

routes to local services and facilities;

• contribute to the improvement of traffic movement

and circulation and parking facilities within the

parish, around the center’s of the communities, and

around the schools. Proposals that improve and

enhance the situation will be encouraged;


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• provide evidence, to accompany the planning

application, to demonstrate that the level of off-street

parking provided will ensure there is no detrimental

impact on the local road network;

• provide facilities for cycle storage and, in the case of

housing for the disabled, buggy storage.

Policy MP 9 Public Rights Of Way And Wildlife Corridors New development should protect and where possible enhance the existing rights of way network and its ambience. Where it is proposed that associated public footpaths or bridleways are rerouted or realigned, they should be designed as part of landscaped wildlife corridors rather than being routed along estate road pavements as part of the highway network.

Policy MP 10 Sustainable Energy Projects

Promoters of sustainable energy projects will be urged to bring forward proposals, including generation facilities for the benefit of the community, provided they comply with environmental and other policies of the NDP.

Policy MP 11 The Common Minchinhampton Common (a Site of Special Scientific Interest) is a unique and highly sensitive area that exists as a finely balanced ecosystem in which the requirements of the special

local ecology, the free-grazing cattle and horses, walkers, riders, traffic and other users all play their part and must be managed appropriately to ensure The Common’s sustainability.

Development proposals which enhance, or at least have no adverse effects on, these special requirements of the Common will be supported if they also comply with the requirements of the NPPF, the Stroud Local Plan and the other policies contained within this NDP. The Parish Council will encourage the redesign of the Aston Down roundabout to reduce the propensity for traffic to cross the Common.


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5 CREATING THE PLAN

Introduction 5.1 The Survey, Analysis and Policies set out above provide a sound

basis for creating the Plan. In order to develop the aspirations of the community of Minchinhampton parish, and provide for benefits to be derived from development within the Parish, the Steering Group has set out the vision and shows the way in which the development of policies has enabled an unambiguous and robust plan for implementation.

The 18 year Vision

5.2 “The Parish consists of a cluster of communities which have

historically developed around The Common, an area of

outstanding beauty and natural scientific interest, which has

retained the benefits of the past and will continue to explore

ways in which it creates new opportunities. Communities

may aspire to develop culturally, aesthetically, commercially,

environmentally, educationally, socially and spiritually,

providing a safe place for future generations and families who

will want to be proud to be associated with and embrace the

values of the past, the reality of the present and the ingenuity

and innovation of the future.”

Assumptions and Pre-requisites 5.3 To enable the vision to be meaningfully implemented it starts

with the assumption within our communities that the status quo cannot continue and therefore an improvement in our life style and community, coupled with the desire to have good economic housing to suit home seekers, schools and employment, is a priority in creating and in some areas re-creating a safe economic environment for all who live in and visit the community.

5.4 Although Minchinhampton town itself may embrace much of

the vision, implementing the vision in the villages and small settlements within the Parish is an essential pre-requisite for the Plan as a whole. ie the sum of the parts must be greater than the whole over a defined time frame.

5.5 In developing the vision, it requires that visionaries must be

enlightened and innovative, becoming unshackled from some of the tethering points that may prevent Minchinhampton reaching its “Vision Potential.”

5.6 Although there may be a desire to achieve much in a short a

time as possible, it will be a discipline on the Parish Council and communities to work closely together in a collaborative manner and this vision assumes projects will be seen for their overall benefits with people and organisations doing their best for the future and not unwittingly hang on to the past.


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5.7 The Vision emphasises that the community is to be a “Safe Place” and this aspect will apply to projects and the implementation of suggestions. Safe for people, cars, lorries, buses, cyclists, horses and cows and by implication the homes of community residents.

5.8 Inevitably, the Consultations have resulted in people identifying their immediate concerns; it is more difficult to envisage the changes that may occur over 18 years, or conceive of the funding mechanisms that might enable enhancements to the facilities of the town and villages.

5,9 The Steering Group has considered a range of options in

implementing the plan taking account degrees and rates of change that might be acceptable over the period 2018 – 2036.

5.10 Options will inevitably have different approaches with a

specific level of investment required. In practice the options set out for a time period, may become stages in the evolution of the Parish. The Steering Group envisages that the community will have the opportunity to express its wish to see a specific level, or stage, of development for Minchinhampton Parish over the NDP Plan period.

5.11 The NDP stands to be reviewed alongside future reviews of the

SDC Local Plan.

Phased implementation of the Vision 5.12 Each phase is set out over a timescale considered relevant to

the development requirements of the community. At the same time attention has been paid to ensuring that no one phase should entail works or commitments that would act as a “Show Stopper” for on-going implementation in subsequent years.

5.13 The following sections outline the phases of priorities that the

community might realistically be expected to achieve. This will create a dynamic target for development and improvement over the period of the NDP. It is assumed that the organisation noted as the Promoter will have access to, and use, relevant funding to deliver the identified solutions. In summary these four phases are set out below:-

Phase 1 - Years 0-3

Constructively set out to promote and develop a “can-do” attitude and not “Park” issues for others at a later date. This will include the identification of financial requirements to implement the prioritised vision in subsequent years.

• At this phase there is minimum intervention and seeks solutions to immediate problems. It is strongly focused on dealing with those aspects of life in the Parish that are seen


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by the community as needing urgent solutions, without postulating significant levels of growth.

• Although during this period there will be identifiable financial requirements, the Parish Council are empowered to implement those aspects of the vision where funding is minimal and where budgets have been agreed for vision implementation in subsequent years of the NDP.

• It should be noted that much of these low cost areas could possibly be funded directly from the financing sources identified in section 6.2 below.

Critical features of this option are shown in the table below reflecting and addressing some of the issues that were identified in the NDP road shows consultations.


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PHASE ONE Years 0-3

ISSUE CHALLENGE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS COST RANGE

PROMOTOR

1 Lack of affordable housing Demand for housing for locals Seek land/allocate land

2 Traffic speed and cattle safety

Cattle deaths on the Common Traffic speed and lack of driver awareness

Traffic calming,

speed limits,

Low MPC NT Graziers

Amberley School/Amberley Inn

Traffic speed/visibility 20 mph limit covering school/church/Amberley Inn

Low TRO/MPC GCC

Amberley – minor roads Traffic speed/visibility 20 mph limit on minor lanes of Amberley Low TRO/MPC

Box –road between Halfway House and Village Hall

Traffic speed/visibility Extend 20 mph limit up to junction with road at Halfway House

Low TRO/MPC

Box/Minchinhampton – Box Lane

Traffic speed / pedestrian safety

Introduce speed humps or designate as a Quiet Lane

Low TRO/MPC

Brimscombe Hill – near the school

Traffic speed 1] Make and extend the current 20mph length statutory rather than advisory and improve the signage

2] Add 20mph roundels on the road

Low

Low

TRO/MPC

TRO/MPC

Minchinhampton North and South wards

1] Amend speed limit to 20mph for West End, Tetbury St., High St., Well Hill, Friday St. Tobacconist Road, Bell Lane, School Road, Market Square and Butt St.


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PROMOTOR

The Common Cattle safety 1] Reduce speed limit across The Common to 30 mph from 40 mph

2] Install average speed cameras at entry and exit points to The Common

Low

Medium

GCC

MPC

3 Pedestrian safety


Improve safety for crossing Cirencester Road

Extend footway on west side of Butt St. up to Cirencester Rd. and provide pedestrian crossing onto northern verge of Cirencester Rd, west of Knapp Lane.

Medium TRO/MPC


Pedestrian safety, traffic congestion and vehicle size

1] Introduce 7.5 t weight limit for Tetbury St. and West End

2] Ban West End as a bus route and re-route buses via Dr. Browns Rd., Cirencester Rd. and Butt St. (Buses to U-turn in Market Square; provide bus stop on Dr. Browns Rd.

Low

Low

TRO/MPC MPC

Minchinhampton Parish Reduce HGV traffic driving through Minchinhampton (non-delivery traffic)

Review and improve relevant traffic signs across the whole of the parish and main roads that connect with the parish

Medium GCC

Amberley school and Amberley Inn

Addition of footway fronting Amberley Inn

Medium


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PROMOTOR

4 Parking

Minchinhampton Town centre parking issues of conflict between different users

1] Limit High St. on-street parking to 2hr provide enforcement

2] Provide ‘residents permit’ parking in Friday St. car park

3] Provide central disabled parking space(s)

4] Mark-up parking bays to improve parking efficiency

5] Provide additional parking in Market Square – if buses NOT having to U-turn

Low Low Low Low

Medium

TRO/MPC SDC TRO/MPC TRO/MPC

MPC

TRO/MPC

Traffic flow 1] Ban parking outside Woefuldane Café and make The Cross a proper roundabout, or alternatively

2] Move The Cross to the north and add to pedestrian areas and/or parking

Low Medium

TRO/MPC ?

Provide attractive and safe pedestrian access from Bell Lane car park to town centre

Extend and widen existing footway along full length of Bell Lane with suitable lighting

Medium MPC


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5.15 PHASE 2 - Years 3 – 6 During this time, it is a requirement of the NDP process that a review should be undertaken in year four. This period will be implementing definitive projects clearly identified in the plans following on from Phase one and financing options will be considered.

• For low to moderate growth, the options identified in this phase reflect a recognition that the Parish will need to accept some new development designed for people’s social needs and the safety of all who live in and visit the community, whether this is for affordable housing resulting from speculative development, safety of pedestrians and cyclists across the Parish, traffic flow rationalisation and other items not commenced in Phase One.

• It is during this Phase that the Parish Council and community will need to be more ambitious and challenging as to how funding is secured for the key areas identified for community purposes.

• The table below shows some of the options in this phase coupled with some shared from Phase One.

ISSUE CHALLENGE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS COST RANGE PROMOTOR

1 Lack of affordable housing

Demand for housing for locals Seek land/allocate land

2 Market sale housing Lack of available land NDP policies to identify preferred areas for development leading to agreement of land allocation outside the settlement boundary in return for contributions to address community issues


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3 Pedestrian safety and traffic issues

Reduce traffic using Tetbury St. and West End as a ‘rat run’

Change road priorities at Gatcombe Corner to route main road traffic coming from Avening up to The Ragged Cott

High GCC/MPC

Box – between road at Halfway House and Village Hall

New section of footway from Halfway House up to and including bus shelter

Medium

Brimscombe Hill adjacent to The Common

1] Extend the permanent footway south past the bus shelter to the edge of The Common

2] Maintain/cut back vegetation blocking footway access

Medium

Low

MPC MPC/GCC

Minchinhampton town centre 1] Widen the footway adjacent to the corner of the Market House where High St. enters Market Sq. (this will cause one-way shuttle working and act as a traffic calming measure for vehicles) 2] Provide dropped kerb crossing point midway along High St. 3] Provide dropped kerb crossing points across all arms of the crossroads at bottom of High St.

Medium Low Low

TRO/MPC TRO/MPC TRO/MPC


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3 Pedestrian safety and traffic issues (contd)

Box: Traffic speed near Halfway House

Install rumble strips and coloured road surface

Low TRO/MPC

Minchinhampton: Poor inter-visibility causing traffic congestion in West End and at cross roads at bottom of High St.

Consider one-way traffic flow system for West End from the High St. crossroads to the junction with Cuckoo Row

Low TRO/MPC

Amberley: School traffic congestion

Designate school road during term time as one way with entry from Culver Hill and exit at junction with Pinfartings Road

High TRO/MPC

Minchinhampton Town Centre: Integrated use of central area

Design/implement High St./Market Square area as a Living Street or Shared Surface

High MPC/Grants/Public loan

Minchinhampton: Narrow footways in West End

Narrow the carriageway in West End and therefore widen the adjacent footway, if one-way working introduced

Medium ?

Poor inter-visibility at south end of Butt St.

Realign northbound approach within Market Square to provide direct sightline up Butt St.- using kerbs or road-marking

Low TRO/MPC


3 Pedestrian safety and traffic issues continued

The Common: Traffic speed and volume on Cirencester Rd. over The Common

Construct mini-roundabout at junction of Dr. Browns Rd. and Cirencester Rd.

Medium/High

MPC/Grants/Public loan


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Redesign Aston Down roundabout to encourage traffic to continue to use the A419, in accordance with highways policy.

High MPC/GCC


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Phase 3 - Years 6 – 10 This pivotal phase will reflect on the improvements undertaken to this date, their effectiveness and continue to analyse the perceived and actual economic and other benefits that have accrued to the community. Positive plans to provide funding, accepting that growth will occur will need to be in place and specifically directed to secure town centre and other improvements It goes beyond dealing with the issues that just need urgent solutions and is the period where the community can expect to see physical changes in the town and begin to reap the benefits of policies set out in the NDP. Expectations of those who attended the Road shows consultations would be that in this phase real results will be delivered having been given the opportunity to accept the cost implications in both the short and long term A number of options in this Phase are outlined in the table below:-


Box Traffic speed near Halfway House

Construct a roundabout High GCC?

Minchinhampton North ward

Central traffic circulation

Consider introducing a comprehensive one-way system incorporating Tetbury St., Well Hill, West End, Friday St. and a new link from School Rd. to Cambridge Way

High GCC?

The Common Traffic speed and congestion and cattle safety

1. Average speed cameras on routes across the Common

2. Install double roundabout at Tom Long’s Post, realigning Windmill Rd. with Culver Hill and Brimscombe Hill with the road to the W

High GCC?


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5.17 Phase 4 - Years 10 – 20

• It is understood that an NDP covers a 18yr timescale.

• Minchinhampton NDP does not wish to have a cut-off at that time and will therefore continue to plan on either a subsequent NDP or a rolling 5yr programme to ensure that specifics of the plan in practice, guidance and culture, are reflected in the future to bring about a better place within our communities.

• The areas of change, development and improvement should have been well planned, funded and begun to be implements at the start of this phase. It will be incumbent on the Parish Council, Stroud District Council and key people in the town, villages and hamlets of the Minchinhampton Parish to be minded to achieve for the benefit of the whole, not to be reticent but positive to achieve.

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6 Progressing the Plan and Implementation

Defining the Options

6.1 Creating places that work well, and that people would choose to live in, is fundamentally a matter of finding investment and using it wisely. Minchinhampton and its outlying villages are fortunate on that they already have a rich and diverse heritage of both built and natural environments.

Whilst it is true to say that the Parish of Minchinhampton is a pleasant place to live, work and be at leisure, there is also a reasonable level of local facilities and services. However, there is no certainty that all that is cherished in the Parish by those who live in it will remain unchanged. In the 21st Century it is vital that there are plans in place to address the pressures and concerns identified and definitions of how to address the issues. Since 1945 there has been a steady growth in the number of new houses built within the Parish most of which have been in and around the settlement of Minchinhampton. This new development has provided little or no financial benefit to fund any public works enhancements in the Parish. External funding from the District or County Councils has always failed because the Parish of Minchinhampton is seen as a less deserving case that other Parishes in the County. Minchinhampton is never viewed as a deserving place for public investment.

6.2 Funding the Vision

There are various ways in which the potential improvement projects for Minchinhampton and the Parish may be funded. Historically the Parish Council has relied upon its own reserves, Public Works Loan Board money and small-scale funds from developers in return for planning consent to pay for projects it has undertaken. Notably the construction of the car park at the top of Bell Lane, the acquisition of the Trap House and contributions to the acquisition of Box Woods. Future funding to achieve much of what is set out here will rely on a range of potential funding source. These may include but not be limited to Minchinhampton Parish Council, Stroud District Council, grant aid, private sponsorship, Lottery applications, other local or national charities and third-party investments. It is therefore necessary for the Minchinhampton Parish Council through this NDP to consider not only the projects the Parish aspires to but also how it will fund the most needed projects.

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There are probably five options:

• To encourage development within the Parish in return for significant and targeted developer contributions

• The Parish Council to apply to the Public Works Loan Board (Government Mortgage Scheme) for specific projects or a programme of projects. This will involve raising the Parish precept to repay the loan.

• Direct funding from increases in the precept

• To bid for and apply for funding from District and County Council funds. In reality there are many other locations within the District and County with greater needs than Minchinhampton Parish.

• Crowd funding for specific projects

• Grant aid applications

Whilst the first option seems undesirable because the impact upon existing settlements in the Parish might be damaged if development is allowed in a relatively uncontrolled way it might be possible to consider a coordinated development programme of say 12 dwellings a year over a five-year period linked to a defined developer contribution to addressing traffic issues in specific locations. This approach could be taken in conjunction with any of the other options listed above.

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APPENDICES


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Appendix 1 Housing Needs Survey


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Appendix 2 Traffic Consultants report


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Appendix 3 Conservation Areas Development within conservation areas and to buildings of heritage value The conservation areas, the industrial heritage areas and buildings of heritage value have been referred to and described elsewhere in the survey and analysis sections of this NDP. This part of the plan seeks to set out the criteria to be used in assessing planning applications to allow development within or to these areas and assets. The overarching principle to be used in assessment of planning applications should be “does the proposal enhance or improve” the area or building? Unless there is clear evidence of enhancement or improvement then the application should be refused. Within the assessment consideration should be given to the context of the adjoining buildings, streets, spaces between structures and the views in and out of the area. The architecture should be of good quality respecting the language, massing, form, spans and pitches used in adjoining structures. The materials proposed should be good quality natural materials in keeping with the area when the proposal is an extension or abutting an existing structure careful attention to the junction between old and new must be given. The use of spaces, glass links and the like to allow visual adjustment from one form to another is required. These statements above are not designed to preclude any form of new or modern architectural solution but merely

to respect the special nature of the existing structures alongside a new proposal. It is important to note that a good architectural solution should stand in its own right to be assessed and should definitely not be a pastiche or copy of an earlier style. CONSERVATION AREA STATEMENTS These statements below have been prepared by Nick Hurst, Dip.Arch (Glos) RIBA, Chartered Architect. No formal CASs exist for 3 of the 5 designated areas, within the boundaries of the Parish, and with scant detail to the two parts of the Industrial Heritage Area. To partially plug the gap, and offer some guidance to any potential developer, the following is offered in good faith. General There are a number of ways in which the character and appearance of a Conservation Area can be affected, either adversely or beneficially. There is of course the slow attrition of time – weather erosion, lack of maintenance, and etc., but increasingly the impact of the car, especially when parked, must be considered a major factor. Conservation areas traditionally were designed and constructed in an age when transport was less mechanical. While we may regret the clutter that parking causes, and the consequent adverse effect on movement, we should understand that the impact cannot readily or easily be ideally managed in historic environments.


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Sometimes (once in recent history in Minchinhampton) - Local Authorities can undertake comprehensive schemes of enhancement; the likelihood of further opportunities for this are unlikely because of funding difficulties. Some utility improvements – broadband, eg. – will result in the removal of overhead telecoms apparatus, and potential trenching through surfaces which may or may not be sympathetically reinstated. The principal agent of change these days is the management of development control, controlled by Acts of Parliament (principally the Planning Acts), and administered through the Local Authority. Such control is closely regulated, and supposedly impartial. It is a democratic process by definition and intent, but gives individuals and consultee agencies the chance to express a view, before any alteration is authorised. Often the works undertaken by utility companies and the highway authority may be outside the detailed regulation of a CA, but can have significant influence. (road resurfacing/ alterations to infrastructure / traffic orders/ etc) Finally, the closure of a village store, or a pub, can have dire consequences on the well-being of a small community, eroding the quality of life, in a sort of death-by-a-thousand-cuts. Such economic circumstance is usually outside community control, although its consequence may with resolve be mitigated through post-event intervention. All of these factors need to be weighed in coming to conclusions and recommendations. Building alteration is to a large extent in the hands of the owner. It remains critical to remember this in weighing up the balance of any proposal; individuals still broadly have the right

to decide what they want to do with their property, subject always to compliance with the Local Plan. But, good manners in design remain. Each proposal has to be assessed on its merits, and the approach that is appropriate on one building will be different on its neighbour. Scale, materials, and sympathetic detailing should prevail, as will concerns around over-looking, proximity and etc. A presumption in any assessment – does this proposal cause harm to, or enhance? – the property or its neighbours, can sometimes seem a matter of subjective judgement. We should remember that our Conservation Areas are a mixture of styles, and dates, influences and resource. We should not dismiss contemporary solutions per se, just because they do not reflect some pre-conceived notion of what “fits in”. Our ancestors were often wary of stylistic imitation, and had the confidence to build to the mores and expectations of their time. This eclectic approach is often what gives a CA its distinct flavour. That said distinctive character can be defined, by analysis, and therefore describe a framework in which development can be considered, by working with the grain, or texture, of a place. MINCHINHAMPTON Summary: Minchinhampton is the principal settlement of the Parish. The Conservation Area comprises the layered


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development of five centuries of change, style, wealth, and etc. It is centred on the Cross, created as recently as 1919, by the demolition of a block of derelict buildings. It covers an area arranged along six primary streets, all with probable mediaeval origin. Within 50m of the Cross sit the principal buildings: the Church, the Market House, and the Crown Inn. Those who live here regard the town as “unfussy” Cotswolds, without the airs and graces of, for instance, Stow, Chipping Campden or Painswick. The Parish of Minchinhampton as currently configured is largely the result of the Local Government Act of 1894. Prior to that, it extended down into the Nailsworth valley, and as far west as Rodborough. The boundaries were adjusted again in 1974, as part of local government re-organisation, at which point the northern boundary was moved from the centre of the River Frome, to the railway line. The latter is obviously more defined; the original line of the river through the middle of old Brimscombe Port was somewhat more arbitrary, however historical its origins. The focus of the parish remains the town of Minchinhampton, although all the other separate communities have their own identities. The linking feature has to be the Common, and the farms with grazing rights that surround it. The complexity of those rights is not a subject for this statement, which is focussed on the built form. What is pertinent however is the fact that, of some 250 registered graziers, perhaps only half-dozen or so actually turn out beasts. This means that the responsibility for the grazing of the Common, a reality absolutely essential to its character, falls on a very few people. There are reasons for this, notably the

Commons Registration Act of 1965, which reserved grazing rights to those farmers who bothered to register their acreage. In relation to the consideration of any potential development sites these must be checked to see that they are outside registration; further erosion to development of potential and existing grazing registered land must be avoided, until such time as the CRA65 is reviewed (The 2006 CROW Act had a weak stab at it.) footnote 1. There has certainly been a settlement here since before the Conquest. Domesday records an occupation by 32 villagers, 10 smallholders, 10 slaves and a priest, generating an income of £28 per year to the lord of the manor. Roman industrial activity has been recorded in the area of Dr. Crawford’s Close, and under Box Crescent. The inclusion of a priest shows there was a church. A charter of 1269, granted by Henry III, allowed fairs and markets to be held, so economic activity must have been significant. That said, Henry was granting charters all over the place to raise money. The town plan must have developed, at least in some rudimentary form, by that time. The Town owes its prosperity to the wool trade, although the church prior to its disappointing rebuild by Foster of Bristol did not show the characteristic details that exemplify grand wool churches elsewhere. What is more certain is that the quality of the water in the valleys, Fullers Earth deposits for treating the cloth, and the power of steeply flowing streams supported a thriving cloth industry. The Town is placed on the route from Stroud to London, so it was fine cloth rather than fleeces that found their way east. The mill sites in the valleys remain a significant heritage. (See below)


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The Town layout is clearly mediaeval, and exhibits several standard classic features. The layout is roughly cruciform, with roads running approximately parallel to each other in a N-S, E-W formation. (Burgage plots implied) footnote 2 / the position of the church, and manor house (under the site of the present school) were almost certainly pre-determined, but the Market House sits on the primary junction, and the Market Square remains in place to its north. There is documentary evidence to suggest three such structures, and it has always been assumed that another stood in the upper Market Square. It is not clear if market trading extended down the High Street, but the width of the street, between buildings that date earlier than Tudor, suggests not. (restricted) Also, late mediaeval activity, documented by references to numerous coaching inns, would have been impaired by street trading activity. Horses would need to be rested after climbing up onto the plateau from the valleys, and perhaps changed. The fields to the east and west were laid out as lynchets pre-enclosure; those to the west are now under housing estates, as indeed are parts of the East Field, reworked as the Glebe estate. It is quite probable that the layout of the town as now configured was in fact dictated by an earlier settlement. The line of Well Hill drops neatly into the valley down towards Longfords, and gives access to the water supply where the springs break out; there is a line of wells in cellars up through the High Street, presumably centred over an underground water course. Overlaid onto this simple, straightforward, plan sits a wealth of buildings of various ages, some of significant architectural quality, and demonstrating a continuing prosperity over at least

five centuries. Many of the buildings as now presented are rebuilds or alterations on earlier structures, including re-fronts. The result is a mix of styles that comes from such an organic growth pattern. What unites it all is a similarity of materials, stone primarily for walls, as well as stone roof tiles. The former can be ashlar, or dressed, with details and mouldings, or coursed rough hewn blocks. All would have been sourced locally, including fine ashlars from the Painswick quarries. Roofs are somewhat more transient, and many have been replaced over time by slate (from the early nineteenth century) or tiles (from the mid Victorian period) Windows and door details are traditional too, and mostly timber. The “posher” houses from the 18th. century have classically proportioned vertical sashes, but iron-framed casements with leaded lights still remain in some of the cottages. However not all properties are listed as being of historic or architectural interest, and consequently legally protected against unauthorised change. Even Conservation Area status does not give complete protection against the erosion of detail. Pevsner describes the Town in some detail, identifying individual buildings. footnote 3. His reading of the High Street as a very fine group is somewhat different to its pre-1919 appearance, when the top of the space, now occupied by the Cross, was filled with the buildings that comprised Lower Island. Within the High Street, only one cottage remains unlisted, everything else having been included in the schedule. Listing is less comprehensive in Westend, Tetbury Street, and Well Hill, but still there in significant numbers. The buildings there suggest that those three streets were perhaps developed from the 18th. C. onwards, rather than anything earlier (there are always exceptions). The route through Westend/ Tetbury


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Street was a turnpike from about 1760, and it is possible the cottages there date from after that time. However Tetbury Street is almost certainly part of the burgage layout so would have had cottages on its northern side. Burgage plots were conventionally based on rental, to give income to the Lord of the Manor, and at some point the area in the centre of the block between Friday Street and Tetbury Street has been excluded from the domestic curtilages, creating what is now known as the Lemon Field. The Field remains in private hands and is currently agricultural in purpose. There are various theories as to how the land got its curious name, but a corruption of “lambing field” is perhaps the best contender, based around the idea of the sheep being bought in for winter and spring lambing. The Town is blessed by its relationship to the Common, or more particularly the Great Park. The park was the enclosure dedicated to the manor for its deer hunting. It is completely distinct from the Common, but the two are now conjoined and indistinguishable to the casual visitor. The reality of the park, and the manor, forced the Town’s development to the south and east. The route of the Stroud to Cirencester turnpike (1720ish) was dictated by the Park’s northern boundary, and the pale ditch is still in place. The Common itself enjoys SSSI status for the quality and diversity of its fauna and flora, and is a scheduled ancient monument for its archaeology. The early years of the 20th. Cent. saw many fine “Arts and Crafts” houses being built around the fringes of the Common and Park. Ernest Gimson, Sidney and Ernest Barnsley, and after 1926 Norman Jewson, had set up studios at Sapperton, under

the patronage of Earl Bathurst. Indeed the Cross in the High Street is one of Earnest Barnsley’s best works. This paper is not the place to discuss the architectural work of the Sapperton Group, and it is only now that it is being belatedly and rightly recognised with listed building status. We enjoy the legacy. Thus the shape of the Town today is dictated by its geological and topographical constraints. The old central core is the Conservation area, sitting on the scarp edge above the Longford Valley, and limited to the SE by Fullers Earth deposits. The Manor and its deer park, and then the Common, have largely prevented development to the north and north-west. The Gatcombe Estate out to the east, where Philip Sheppard resettled into his grand new house after the manor buildings were abandoned, has blocked significant development to the east. Post-War investment into social housing saw the creation of estates to the NE., the Glebe and the Tynings, and Box Crescent to the SW. Continual developments through the 60s and 70s witnessed further expansion in both Besbury Park and Beacon Park. Most recent development has been limited to infill and small scale estates constructed on pockets of agricultural land left within the development boundary; the capacity for that to continue is now pretty much exhausted. There are, as always, consequences. The old core contained in the Conservation area was not designed for the motor car, or the delivery vehicles that now dominate retail trading from supermarkets elsewhere. Parking, and the problems that are generated around vehicle movement, have not been helped by the current fashion of the 4x4, or an aging population granted licence by blue-badge concession to leave their vehicles in inappropriate places without sanction. There is a visual


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dimension to this, and the aesthetic and environmental values that caused the Conservation Area to be created in the first place are challenged by the impact. In moving forward, the well-being of the CA., especially its contribution to the life of the Town, and an attraction to tourists as a source of income, has perhaps to be re-balanced. The professional and middle class families who arrived here in the post-war years have grown old in their houses. Minchinhampton has seen its share of retirement resettlement too, although second homing is not now the problem it once was. The older indigenous population remains here as well in a significant proportion of households; there is a marked stability to the community. The housing mix is arguably bedroom rich in relation to family size, as the population ages. And the inevitable loss of retail activity flowing from the 1970/80s growth in supermarket trading, and now on-line activity, has especially changed the property mix in the CA. It does affect the character, but establishing a CA on the quality

of its architecture and historic reference can only go so far to preserve a commercial and social reality. Plus ca change. Plus le meme chose. Footnotes: 1. Crow Act 2006 – Countryside and Rights of Way Act. 2. Burgage plots: A unit of land division used throughout England,

and well established by the 13th century. A burgage was a town ("borough") rental property (to use modern terms), owned by a king or lord. The property ("burgage tenement") usually, and distinctly, consisted of a house on a long and narrow plot of land with a narrow street frontage. Rental payment ("tenure") was usually in the form of money, but each "burgage tenure" arrangement was unique, and could include services. As populations grew, "burgage plots" could be split into smaller additional units.

3. Pevsner - Buildings of England series Gloucestershire)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borough


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BOX. Summary: Box has its own individual character, derived from a sense that the spaces between the individual buildings are as important as the buildings themselves, irrespective of a lack of listed building status. The prevailing impression of the character of Box Conservation Area is of mainly 19th century Cotswold stone cottages set in large garden plots amidst other expanses of greenery, most of which are closely bounded by significant lengths of unbroken stone walls creating a 'hard' edge to the lanes. The public green spaces, and generous verges are integrated into an harmonious whole. Box lies on the scarp edge of the Nailsworth valley as it continues upstream to the east towards Avening. It enjoys a pleasant airy southern aspect. It is wholly within the Cotswolds AONB. The Box CA was established in November 1973. The boundaries remain those selected back then without amendment. There are paddocks to the south that may be worth adding at some point, as they are significant in the views back from the south, (especially the top of Scar Hill,) and define the clear and sharp edge between the village and its rural setting. Box Woods, now in community ownership will in time also contribute to the “flavour” of the Box CA. To the north and east stretch the open pastures of Minchinhampton Common, an SSSI and a scheduled ancient monument.

Box is a bit of an enigma. For its size it has relatively few listed buildings, and these are scattered through its length. It seems that as a village it is probably relatively new. Of those listed buildings only one is obviously older than the 18th Century, the Old Beehive Inn, of 17th C. origin. The vast majority of the cottages in the village are arguably no earlier than late 18th C. and maybe newer. By Cotswold standards Box is a new community. So, why here? And why nothing one might describe as grand apart from two 18th Century houses? (and those no more than Grade 2) To answer this question is to start to define the special character of the place. Running down the slope from the north, off the Common, lies the Bulwark, which reaches the Box CA to the east of the Halfway House. No one has properly defined the purpose of this earthwork, but it is almost certainly a boundary marker of some sort. It appears in the historic record back to the early mediaeval, and could be much earlier, possibly Iron Age. (Excavation in 1936 by Mrs. Clifford was inconclusive) The attrition of time will have reduced its size and impact in the landscape somewhat. However, it seems to the author to been deliberately aligned at both ends, (Box and Woefuldane - way over to the east of Minchinhampton), to folds running down into the valley, continuation markers in the contours. The area in the centre of the village is known as the Pen. Is it so placed because of the Bulwark? The Pen has not been properly researched but oral history suggests it to be an enclosure used to corral animals, gathered from grazing on the common land. It is without doubt an anomaly; undeveloped in the centre of the village and a somewhat unorthodox shape, being an


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elongated oval. In recent times it has been parcelled up between the cottages to its north. Within its boundary is what was once the village privy, sheltered under a yew tree. Animals could have been driven into it from either side of the Bulwark. This focal point on the hillside might be positioned because another driver, the spring-line. Water and the available sources of potable supply are a sine-qua-non of most settlements. In Box the author is informed there are numerous wells, with cottages clustered around them, and ancient rights of access and use attached to each irrespective of ownership. These tap into the water layer under the village, which also manifests itself in open wells along the lane, and break-outs below the village. Water moves over time, and while current outlets cannot be assumed to be ancient, there seems to be a consistency of flow that must have encouraged the establishment of the village. The lane runs through the village, roughly along the contour, and shows where the springs break out. Animals held in a pen would need watering. Below the village but not in the CA are quarries. There was/ is a really good seam of stone that has been extensively exploited at a number of points along its length. Now, the disused workings offer a major habitat for horseshoe bats. The mines are connected by a track, again running along the contour, to ship the stone out across the district, and this track is connected to Box via Scar Hill at one end, and the Nailsworth “W” at the other, as well as various footpaths that linking the village to the valley. There are known quarries at the eastern end of the CA, in the grounds of Box House.

And below that track again, into the valley floor, various mills that worked the power of the fast running stream at the bottom. This stream has never been known to fail. It rises at Cherington, above the lake there, and builds volume as it drops down to Nailsworth. The largest of the mills is at Longfords, now part of the Stroud Valleys Industrial Conservation Area, and discussed elsewhere. The mills would have needed a ready workforce, as indeed would the quarries. Thus Box sits at nearest point above the places of employment where water was available. The relationship to the Common seems almost incidental. But the Pen has had a significant effect on the shape of the village that then developed, as has the village green, two primary features that have thus dictated the shape of the village. A supply of good stone is obvious from any study of the houses and cottages. Apart from the ashlar taken from the mines, borrow pits are scattered across the Common. Open workings are common on the slopes below too. The local fields would have produced as a waste product the layered stone, so much a feature of the drystone walls which everywhere define the plots and the lanes. The stone is ubiquitous, and defined everything built in the village until the invention of visually inferior reconstructed stone. Box is an unassuming collection of predominantly workers cottages. Weavers’ cottages are generally now altered out of recognition, but must have been here; this was not a village built on the back of the sheep. The cottages look to date almost


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entirely from the late 18th, early 19th Century. After that date the mills were going into decline, although the quarries worked on through to the 20th Century. So, Box is a contour village, built along the spring-line. The main lane through abruptly turns at its eastern end, probably a result of land ownership restriction, and heads off NE towards Minchinhampton. At the western end it connects to the Nailsworth “W”, although this is a newer road, built to replace the track known as the ladder. The lane does however continue as a contour road, off through to Pinfarthings and Amberley. The village then is defined by modest cottages clustered into groups and wrapped around the Pen and the village green, and linearly distributed along the village lane. They are stone built with stone tile roofs, often with mullion windows. This makes for a homogenous whole. Drystone walls, aligned to the lane without footpaths, and with grassy wild strips filling the junction between the horizontal and vertical surfaces are very complete. They are organic, seldom in straight lines, but winding to casually divide public and private space. They are of varying height, but are polite, allowing the casual viewer to peek over into gardens, not aggressive claims to privacy. North of the lane many of the cottages are tight to the road, cheek by jowl, gardens to the rear. Below the road many gardens are adjoining the lane, and cottages set back. Longer distance views into the valley offer a pleasant diversion, and not to be taken for granted. The 20th century has not been kind to Box. Inferior infills have been dropped into the spaces between the cottages, out of scale with their neighbours. Interestingly the boundaries of the

CA have been drawn to include these areas, to the western end, and below the road along to the east. This offers the hope that in time superior replacements might be forthcoming, or alterations to bring the individual dwellings into a better harmony with the balance of the village.


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AMBERLEY. Summary: Amberley is characterized by the special way in which the Common “bleeds” into the village, between the houses. There is no limit to the opportunity of animals to graze the open spaces, which remain registered Common land. Although a relatively modest community, Amberley is blessed with two hostelries, one of which offers accommodation. The restricted land ownership of the Common has limited any practical opportunity for the village to grow, either organically or by design. Amberley, like Box, lies on the upper edge of the Nailsworth valley, at a point where the contour lane running just below the Common, intersects with the route up from the A46. That continues over to the main junction at Tom Long’s Post, and then down into Brimscombe. It is almost certainly an ancient route, with gradual even gradients in both directions off the plateau, and certainly predating the Nailsworth W. This route intersection may be one of the reasons why Amberley is here. It is on the spring-line, so available drinking water is a probable origin factor as well. It is wholly within the Cotswolds AONB. The Amberley CA was established in November 1973. The boundaries remain those selected back then without amendment. To the north and east stretch the open pastures of Minchinhampton Common, an SSSI and a scheduled ancient monument. There are earthworks on the Common that may be

significant, and there is evidence of Roman activity that has not been adequately explored. The settlement may well have an ancient origin. There is no doubt that geology and the Common have had a marked effect on the shape of this village. There are runs of Fullers Earth, especially to the south of the Amberley Inn, which will have discouraged settlement because of instability. More particularly the Common surrounds and spreads through the village, dividing it into smaller localised hamlets – Lower Littleworth, Pinfarthings, St. Chloe, and Houndscroft, to name but a few. Not all are contained within the CA of course, centred as it is on Littleworth, but the way the Common has fragmented the village is significant. Records show that at the turn of the 19th. C. some 70 or so cottages were paying rent to the Lord of the Manor. These will have been cottages that had been allowed to establish either on common land through enclosure or squatting, or those that had been deliberately allowed to be built for a manorial income stream. At the end of the 19th C., going into the 20th C., some significant Arts and Crafts houses and cottages were built by Marling. He was a major local mill owner and benefactor, and would have known Ricardo, then lord of the manor, well. They obviously did a deal. So Amberley is a loose knit collection of cottages, mostly 18th and 19th century, almost all stone built under tile roofs. Because of gradual piecemeal development, detached cottages therefore, in individual plots, predominate. Within the CA. there are one or two 1960s infills, regrettably in reconstructed stone. Any future work to these – extensions and the like –


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should seek to bring them back into the mix, perhaps with renders or stone overcladding. These cottages are scattered down the slope, and the CA laced together with various footpaths and lanes connecting the points of principal importance – the pubs, church, and school. The church, school, and cemetery are almost certainly on land given for their purpose by the Lord of the Manor, at that time David Ricardo. They, the church and school are, apart from Rose Cottage 19th C., and one other, the only listed buildings in the village. Buildings selected for specific listed building protection are rare in Amberley. It is the harmony of the group that prevails, an amalgam of weathered limestone, period window and door details, and open gardens to define the character. There are few stand-out architectural features, because that would be at variance with the way the place has grown, artisan and working cottages (weavers) created primarily on individual plots, leased out by the particular willingness of the Lord of the Manor. There are exceptions of course, notably a fine 18th. C. house on the small green by the Black Horse; it should be listed. ( As a point of interest it is speculatively reported that the cemetery had associations with Holford, creator of the Westonbirt Arboretum. By all accounts, Holford gave his friend David Ricardo specimen trees surplus to his requirements at Westonbirt, to enrich the cemetery. Without doubt there is an interesting variety in the planting, and it has now reached a maturity that could only have been imagined by its creator. The cemetery is rightly included in the CA. It still retains its Victorian conception and has interesting memorials, although

none are listed. The attribution above remains to be properly researched) The Conservation Area as designated concentrates on the core of the place, but even so the Common necessarily infuses a feeling of openness. The Common is unavoidable. It defines the CA as much as its buildings do. Parts of the woods below the village to the west, above the valley, have been reasonably included, as they define green edges. So, as with Box and other settlements, the village is relatively new, reflecting the population explosion of the early 19th. C. Drystone walls are less important to the character of Amberley than elsewhere, in Box say, but they are features that should be kept where possible. Over time it might be worth considering expanding the Amberley CA to include some of the parts of the larger outlying parish. But the eastern boundary is not under any threat as it is common land. The National Trust as owner take a different view to the predecessor in title David Ricardo as to availability of land pockets carved from the Common. Land restrictions in law are a major disincentive. The road through Lower Littleworth has some fine buildings, and with the extended and open views across the valley to Woodchester and beyond gives a distinct character worthy of protection. The threat level will be low here though, as most of these areas are outside of development boundaries and therefore protected to some degree by the Local Plan.


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INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE CONSERVATION AREAS. Summary: The industrial heritage in the valleys is protected by the SIHCA. Much of the wealth that flowed from the cloth trade contributed to the other CAs in the Parish, a symbiotic relationship: the cloth was traded in the Town, or transported along the turnpikes to London and beyond (inns, haulage companies, and the various parts of the supply chain etc.) Some of that trade ceased with the construction of the canal first, and then the railway, but the mill owners gave employment, and built themselves fine houses. The canal and railway are part of the story, Minchinhampton Parish is defined on its north and south boundaries by river valleys. These are included in the Stroud Industrial Heritage Conservation Area. Conservation areas at two places predate the IHCA but are incorporated into it. The principal sites are at St. Marys and Belvedere, to the north (Chalford Valley) designated no. 27 in the SIHCA, and at Longfords to the south (Avening Valley east of Nailsworth.) designated no. 25. There are other minor parts of the IHCA in the parish, where the boundaries overlap – at Merrett’s Mills in Inchbrook, Dunkirk Manor, and a very small part of Brimscombe, which do not warrant concern. The descriptions in the IHCA are general, describing the whole conservation area as a response to canal and mill development. This was later followed by the railway, all squeezed into the Chalford valley funnel running east west. It remains one of the densest concentrations of extant industrial heritage in the country.

The protections afforded by the SIHCA are considerable, and are covered in SDC supplementary guidance documents. There is no advantage in reiterating those here, other than a broad statement that it offers policy overview and control. What is missing is a detailed description of the particular buildings, and their relationship with surrounding areas. There are documentary sources available, notably the excellent work done by Dr. Jennifer Tann, and published first as Gloucestershire Woollen Mills in 1973, and then reprised as Wool and Water in 2012. These however tend to be focussed on the history of the sites rather than architecture per se. Conservation Area 25. The mill at Longfords remains a very intact example of a cloth mill enlarged over centuries, now converted largely to residential use. The conversion work is incomplete, but the evolution of the site can still be read, although the large weaving shed built in 1912 has been demolished, diminishing a sense of the volume of activity on this site. The very large mill dam, from 1806 as surviving, defines the power that was being generated before steam arrived. The redevelopment was in part funded by new terraces, spreading down the valley. It remains to be seen how the balance of industrial buildings will be finished; the plan is heritage commercial, but that brings compromises around visitor movement. What can be said is that the unconverted buildings will not readily support residential, because of their configuration. The conservation area includes the mill owner’s house immediately to the north, late 18th C., now a residential home for


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autistic adults. The buildings have thus been reworked to sensible alternatives. Down the valley, back towards Nailsworth sits Iron Mills, also converted and expanded with new housing, and making good use of the water asset. The old mill ponds have silted up and are now treated as nature reserves. The buildings on both sites are a mixture of styles, but all visually united, stone built under pitched slated or stone tiled roofs. Usefully the separate parts at Longfords carry construction dates and the initials of their proud owners, so the development of the site can be traced. Anything mediaeval is no longer obvious, and what remain dates from the late17th to late 19th C., plus the 20th. C interventions. Tann has shown this is an ancient site, and even today, with modern enabling development, sits harmoniously in the deeply wooded landscape, a tranquil reminder of how a brownfield site can be resurrected. Conservation Area 27. St. Marys and Belvedere Chalford. Both these sites show the importance of the cloth industry in the later 18th. C with fine Georgian owners houses demonstrating prosperity. St. Marys is a wonderful survival, although remains in a poor state of preservation, and therefore under threat from the elements and decay. The main building, a powerful stone built 5 storey structure with an early attic conversion, still contains working steam engines. It is in part-use commercially, and remains in reasonable order. Its companion building has been recently converted in part to residential.

However the site has limitations as a result of the difficulties of access, and the other buildings on the site are less well maintained. The link to the main road is via a working level crossing, still manned by Network Rail, but not on a 24 hour basis. The signal box and gate-keepers house are still there. The railway is literally squeezed into the narrowest of spaces, tight between the main road, and the canal, and on its own terrace. The canal too retains its historic charm, although this section awaits the hand of restoration, currently restrained by the Port redevelopment, half mile away; there is not much to do, and the restoration should be very lightly handled. These few square metres of land give a perfect illustration of the development of the valley over 600 years. The mill house sits adjoining the mill buildings. The core is Tudor, the south wing classical 18th. C, and further additions of a ballroom and grand reception rooms to the east and north. In his original Gloucestershire edition, Pevsner’s description of the house is thorough, but the mill does not get a mention; you can see where his sympathies lay. Other outbuildings scatter around the mill yard. The canal is early, the Thames and Severn having been constructed in the 1780s., a triumph of optimism over the reality of experience. The railway arrived in the valley in 1845, initially broad gauge, but totally overtook the canal in economic importance. The road is actually the newcomer, the Stroud to London turnpike from 1760 running across the Common above and to the south, and by-passing the valley. This complex may have real potential when the canal achieves navigational working.


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CONCLUSION Stroud District Council local Plan policy ES10 has required the preparation of a Heritage Strategy, and any NDP expectations will have to sit under that document. The Heritage at Risk register held and managed by Historic England has both the unconverted buildings at Longfords and the St. Mary’s mill house on its list. The NPPF. para 141 requires Local Authorities to make information about the significance of the historic environment available to the public. There are no formal descriptions of any of the conservation areas in Minchinhampton Parish, which is why these statements have been prepared as part of the NDP. The preparation of a CAS (Conservation Area Statement) can allow a planning authority to impose Article 4 directions if it chooses as a tool to manage inappropriate change within an area. This is not a negative response, but is intended to assist positive conservation.


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Appendix 4 Nature Conservation Data


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Appendix 5 Slides of Roadshow Panels and Consultation Statement


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Appendix 6 Community and business questionnaires


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Things to Check and Include ? Co-operation with Neighbouring parishes, esp Brimscombe

MINCHINHAMPTON PARISH NEIGHBOURHOOD DEVELOPMENT …

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