Frequently asked questions

The proposed development is located at a sufficient distance away from the River Loddon that no direct impact is anticipated. The site will be designed to minimise any change in the downstream flood risk, with the design tested using a specialist flood model that will be reviewed by the Environment Agency. The quality and quantity of the proposed surface water discharge from the site will be managed by a Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS). It will ensure the proposed surface water is managed within the site boundary without posing an adverse impact on downstream watercourses such as the Loddon.

Thames Water is the regional Water and Sewerage Company local to the site and is responsible for the sewage treatment works. It is Thames Water’s responsibility to ensure their assets have sufficient capacity. If improvement works are required, these will be delivered by capital works through Thames Water’s 5 yearly business plan.

There will be no housing buildings on the flood plain. As part of the development of the site a specialist flood model is being developed and will be reviewed by the Environment Agency. This model will be used to identify the potential for flood extents once the development is in place. The development masterplan will then follow the sequential approach to ensure that areas with little or no risk of flooding are developed in preference to areas at higher risk. The site will be designed to minimise any change in the downstream flood risk.

The development will be built in accordance with Building Regulation (Part G) requirements which will be in effect at the time of construction. The Regulations determine water supply requirements and water usage reduction measures that need to be implemented as part of a development. The Building Regulations include requirements for daily water consumption volumes (per person) and installation of water efficient fixtures / fitting and appliances. The Building Regulations also include options for grey water recycling including capturing and re-using specific used water outflows from buildings and / or rainwater run-off for re-use within buildings and developer can incorporate as part of the water consumption control measures to be implemented.

The water authorities, South East Water for the Land East of Basingstoke site, are responsible for supplying new developments with water and have to develop Water Resources Management Plans (WRMP), which take into account planned developments within adopted Local Plans. The latest South East Water WRMP was published on 31th August 2023.

A surface water drainage strategy to manage water on the site is being developed that uses sustainable urban drainage to make sure water does not end up where it should not. Surface water will be managed in a sustainable way on site to ensure that the proposed development mimics the pre-development site characteristics (greenfield run-off only) to reduce the risk of flooding to people and property both on- and off-site.

A site-specific odour sniff-testing assessment has been undertaken at various locations around the Site between May 2022 and June 2023. This assessment has been used as a comparison to the previously prepared odour dispersion models for the Sewage Treatment Works (STW) and is a beneficial supplement as it is based on human response to odours. The assessment, which included 29 visits to various locations on and around the site, has enabled a range of weather conditions to be covered, including worst-case wind directions (from the east and north-east) and the summer heatwave. The sniff testing assessment covers a range of STW operating conditions and also enables identification of odour from sources in addition to the STW. The results of the sniff testing assessment have provided confidence that the odour contour identified within the 2017 East of Basingstoke and Redlands development Brief SPD remains an appropriate basis for the master planning of odour-sensitive land uses such as residential development and the primary school.

At the moment the current Local Plan sets minimal standards for new homes to address climate change but we are working on the basis that the new Local Plan and national standards will move much more towards a net zero carbon target over the next couple of years. The Future Homes Standard is expected to require a 75-80% reduction in carbon and is expected to be in place across England from 2025 and would apply to the construction of any homes on this site. Because of the current lack of clear climate change targets we are looking to identify a series of specific targets for the site that would be offered as part of the planning application and we would set out a number of ways these could be delivered in the future by the developer who would build the homes.

We will be consulting with Hampshire County Council in their separate regulatory role as Highways Authority and they will use the output of traffic modelling and safety data to identify where any off-site improvements are needed.

We are aware of the concerns related to the capacity and safety of the A33 and will be discussing this with the Highways Authority over the coming months.

If the traffic assessment for the site identifies that additional trips will route through Old Basing, Lychpit and other surrounding areas, appropriate mitigation such as traffic calming, walking and cycling route improvements, bus shelters, bus priority measures and localised junction improvements may be applied as agreed with the highway authority.

The movement and access strategy for the site will encourage walking, cycling and public transport trips through providing a well-connected internal network and access to bus services linking to the wider current and planned Basingstoke transport network, including direct links to National Cycle Route 23 which links to the town centre. The site will link to the existing and planned cycling network as set out in the Basingstoke and Deane Local Cycling and Walking Improvement Plan and with the existing Public Right of Way (PRoW) network.

As part of the planning process improvements required to the walking, cycling, public transport and road network to mitigate negative impacts from the development will be identified and prioritised against the development’s contribution to transport. These improvements could include measures such as improvements to the cycling network outside of the site (e.g. linking to the south and into the town centre).

A dedicated cycle route is being designed alongside the main street “Avenue”. This will include a two way route for cyclists as well as footpaths for pedestrians separate from the highway. There will be other more informal cycle routes along linear green spaces and other links across the site. The segregated cycle provision along the north-south avenue is planned to provide a dedicated route for cyclists through the site linking to National Cycle Route 23.

The site will include a network of high-quality pedestrian and cycling routes both north-south and east-west which will mean that residents will be able to travel safely and directly by foot and bicycle. Good links will be supported by clear wayfinding signage which will be provided within the site linking to the external network connections at multiple points including the access to the A33, onto Pyotts Hill and Lillymill Chine.

A new north-south “avenue” route through the site is being planned as an attractive and people friendly route with regular crossing points supporting pedestrian movements.

All streets will have pavements for pedestrians and will provide for safe movement for pedestrians around the site. There may be some smaller streets on the edges of the site that provide a “shared surface” for all users but these will only be short sections of street that are used by very small numbers of vehicles and not for any street that is a through route.

A new bus-only access will be designed that takes the existing use of Pyotts Hill into consideration and National Cycle Route 23 that runs along it. The design of the access will consider how buses can safely interact with pedestrians, cyclists and other traffic at the junction, and will be agreed with Hampshire transport through the planning process. The bus gate is expected to use cameras to prevent people cutting through where they should not.

A bus gate (i.e. a gate allowing only buses through) will be installed at the northern end of the site stopping traffic from the north/Redlands from moving all the way through the site. A bus gate will be installed at the southern end of the site (at the access onto Pyotts Hill) preventing traffic from the site from exiting onto Pyotts Hill. This system will be designed to prevent rat running through the site from surrounding areas.

Areas of ancient woodland will be protected and appropriate measures will be agreed for any areas within the site through a legal agreement and/or planning conditions. The main area of protection on site will be planting on the Pyotts Hill Entrenchment along the western edge of the site which is already subject to managed access arrangements as a scheduled monument.

The development will provide generous green spaces, and similar to Lychpit, lots of proposed trees which will respond to the existing woodland which is prevalent in the area. The main larger open spaces will consist of a large wetland and woodland edge linear park, which will consist of more open green spaces along its route. One of the other aims is to provide generous green corridors through the site linking the north of the development to the south, and a large central park to serve the needs of the local community.

The landscape proposals will provide a network of green spaces of different sizes and character, which will blend in well with the wider landscape, and are located throughout the development as shown on the plans. There are three larger green spaces proposed within the development, as follows:

• The Neighbourhood Park along the western edge of the development, will provide a buffer to the Pyotts Hill Entrenchment, and will incorporate a number of different landscape types. This will include new woodland which will complement the existing woodland to the west, and connect to the network of existing wooded areas such as Great Binfields Copse. Additional areas of open grassland are proposed to allow for leisure use and from key locations will provide good views across to the Lodden Valley. Spaces will feature a mix of amenity and meadow grasslands and also include routes for walking and cycling.
• A local park will sit in the centre of the development and provide a more formal and hardwearing green open space, which will still provide wildlife benefits through tree and other planting. This will include play space and other uses for the local community.
• A large wetland and ecology area is proposed further north, which will create ecologically rich habitat and have an important site wide drainage function. The natural qualities of the wetland will bring high amenity value to the scheme. We are looking at how to optimise this for people to use though the provision of decked walkways, nature walks and bird watching locations, reedbeds, wet meadow areas, and plenty of tree planting to help the space feel like a wetland wilderness.

Once of the key ideas behind the landscape design is that the development will respond to the existing sensitivities of the landscape. These relate to the site’s setting and the different rural landscape types within it, and work has been done to identify the details of these through an initial landscape appraisal. This work is based on a good understanding of the existing topography within the section of valley that it occupies. We are aiming to make sure that the proposals sit well within the site’s existing contours, and ensure that views across the Lodden Valley and the adjacent rural landscape are maintained from higher ground, particularly to the north and the south west of the site. Tree planting and new grasslands will also ensure that the site retains a rural feel.

We are aware of these two documents and will be responding to them directly in the preparation of the planning application for the site. The design team will be using them in developing the masterplan further at the next stages.

Most of the buildings will be 2 storeys high and we are looking at some limited development of 2.5 storeys or 3 storeys in the centre of the site. We will test the location of taller buildings to make sure they don’t have a greater impact on wider views. It is anticipated that maximum building heights will be set out on a parameter plan that will be submitted as part of the outline planning application.

At the moment we have not got to the level of detail that means we can set out housing mix proposals. We will be setting out broad proposals for the type and mix of homes over the next few months but we would expect this to be broadly similar to the mix of homes in the local area at present. We will also need to reflect any housing mix requirements set out in the current or emerging Local Plan.

MThe planning application will provide the type and form of affordable homes required by the Basingstoke and Deane Local Plan. Currently this sets out a requirement for 40% affordable homes with 70% of these being intermediate or shared ownership homes, and 30% being affordable rent homes. In addition, Development Principle 1b of the East of Basingstoke and Redlands SPD sets out a requirement for the site to consider local connections to the borough and a need for affordable housing to be distributed across the site. We are happy to work with the Local Planning Authority around any changes to the policy position that might be expected through the new Local Plan.

We recently met with the NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB) for Hampshire and Isle of Wight who plan primary care services. The development will make Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) payments that can contribute towards improving health facilities. We continue to talk with the ICB about ways that our site and others can help support improved health provision locally. 

Health provision will be one of the topics of the environmental impact assessment that is undertaken for the site and that will be submitted in an Environmental Statement with the planning application. This will consider the wider health impacts of the development.

A community hall will be provided on site to serve the residents of this site and also those from the main Redlands site to the north. This site has previously committed to a financial contribution to the local Council towards it’s share of this new centre.

The local centre is expected to provide small shops, the community hall, a mobility hub for transport information and electric vehicle and bike charging, as well as nursery or other childcare facilities. We will be developing the proposals for this aspect of the site over the next couple of months.