INTRODUCTION. Lees Road, Brabourne Lees

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1 0 INTRODUCTION Introduc on Gladman Developments Ltd has successfully invested in communi es throughout the UK for over 0 years, developing high quality and sustainable residen al, commercial and industrial schemes. A process of public consulta on is being undertaken by Gladman Developments Ltd in order to present the emerging development proposal for land o to the local community. We are proposing a new residen al development of up to 5 homes, together with new green infrastructure. The purpose of this consulta on process is to outline the details of the dra scheme and seek comments from the local community which will be considered before the outline planning applica on is lodged with Ashford District Council. Site Descrip on The site comprises.7ha of arable land and is located to the north of Brabourne Lees. Lees Road, from which the Site access is proposed, runs along the Sites western boundary. Housing Need Every Council is required by the Government to boost signi cantly the supply of housing and to make planning decisions in the light of a presump on in favour of sustainable development. Ashford District Council is required to provide enough housing land to meet its full future housing needs. Approval of this development will help towards mee ng the housing need within the local authority area. Why is the site suitable for development? The Site is sustainably located with easy access to a wide range of exis ng Brabourne Lees community ameni es and the local public transport network. It is a Smeeth logical housing site with exis ng development to the south. The site can be safely accessed via Lees Road and already enjoys pedestrian links to Canterbury Road and the surrounding area. Mersham A0 M0 The Applica on Gladman Developments Ltd intends to submit an outline planning applica on to Ashford District Council early 0. This would establish the principle of development. Site Boundary Secondary Roads Woodland Public Footpaths Development Proposals A residen al development to include up to 5 new homes of varying Primary Roads Railway Line Developed Land Water Course sizes, types and tenures; Green Infrastructure, comprising: new publicly accessible greenspace, an equipped play area, recrea onal paths and tree and shrub plan ng.

2 0 HISTORIC CONTEXT The OS map of 7 illustrates a pond in the northeast of the Site and four footpaths crossing the Site from each corner. A sheepfold is also illustrated occupying the southeast corner of the Site. The OS map of 7 indicates that by this date a eld boundary had been introduced in the northeast part of the Site, dissec ng one of the ponds. The area surrounding the Site in the later nineteenth century remained much the same to that depicted in the Tithe map. Of par cular note is that the Grade II listed Bircholt Corner to the northwest of the Site formed part of a much larger farmstead at this date, with the surviving farmhouse situated in a de ned orchard. To the east of the Site the Zion Chapel is shown. By the turn of the twen eth century the sheepfold had been lost. The farmstead surrounding Bircholt Corner had substan ally decreased in size and addi onal development is illustrated. The Site remained largely unchanged un l the later twen eth century when a small building was built adjacent to the eastern boundary within its own small plot, as illustrated within the OS map of 7. By 7 both ponds had been lled in and the central eld boundary removed. The building near the eastern boundary had been removed by, returning the Site to the single large open eld as it appears today. Whilst the OS mapping from 7 onwards indicates that the crossing footpaths within the Site had been lost at some point during the twen eth century, aerial imagery suggests that these remain evident. However, a site visit revealed that these paths are unde ned on the ground with the only public footpath through the Site being that which follows the southern boundary. The OS maps of 7, 7 and show substan al in ll development to the south of the Site, forming a considerable late twen eth century suburban extension of the historic village. OS map 7 OS map OS map 7 OS map 7 OS map OS map 7

3 0 EXISTING CHARACTER Landscape Character The site lies within the Na onal Character Area (NCA) 0 Wealden Greendsand, published by Natural England. This area is characterised as a long narrow belt of Greensand, predominantly agricultural with extensive areas of ancient mixed woodland. The current landscape character assessment for this area is the Landscape Character Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) 0 which places the Site on the edge of and e ected by the Landscape Character Areas of the Brabouren Vale and the Brabourne Lees mixed Farmlands. The key characteris cs of this landscape include: Gently falling land towards the oodplain. The soils are easily water logged and have been drained by a series of dykes crea ng large elds predominantly for sheep pasture but with some arable. There is a good network of hedges and lanes. Long views to the north across the Wye Valley and to east to North Downs. Site Boundary National Character Areas (NCA) Natural England Landscape Character Assessment of Kent (October 00) Undulating farmland with scattered farmsteads and NCA boundary Brabourne Lees Mixed Farmland Brabourne Vale dis nc ve pa ern of linear tree cover and copses. Large Sellindge Plateau Farmlands Mersham Farmlands productive arable fields have lost some internal field boundaries. Woodlands comprise various mixed planta on woodlands with notable mature oak, ash and beech, wet alder coppice, sweet chestnut and hornbeam coppice. Many are managed for pheasant rearing and game. Lanes are sunken and winding in places bounded by species rich mature hedgerows. Series of springs and associated streams with ushes of willow and wet meadows with rough pasture. M0 in cu ng to southern edge. Se lement Character Common vernacular features within Brabourne Lees include the use of red brick or white render to ground oors with hanging les or back weatherboarding to rst oor eleva ons. Red le roo ng and dormer style rst oor windows are also common with fenestra on o en symmetrical, balanced and white in nish. The boundary between public and private space is typically well de ned by hedges, garden shrub plan ng and occasionally low red brick walls. Above: Examples of built form and materials used within the surrounding area. The proposals will seek to re ect the exis ng built character so as to create an appropriate and sympathe c development in keeping with the character of the site and its context.

4 0 VISUAL CONTEXT Site and Se ng The site is anked by Lees Road to the west, Canterbury Road to the east and adjoins the se lement edge of Brabourne Lees to the south with some residen al proper es along both roads which face the site. The site is bounded by hedgerows to the north, east and west, with domes c boundary fencing to the south. The surrounding landscape is undula ng and includes small farmsteads connected by narrow lanes. To the northwest and west there are some small blocks of woodland. The land rises to the north where it meets the Kent Downs AONB. The visual envelope of the site is contained by the hedgerows located around its boundaries and within the intervening landscape. Loca on Plan with site boundary and viewpoint loca ons Lees Road Public footpath Exis ng eld pond Public footpath crossed at the centre of site Approximate Site Extents Proper es on Canterbury Road Public Footpath Proper es on Mountba en Way PHOTO VIEWPOINT : View north east across the site from Public Footpath adjacent to Lees Road Public footpath Field hedgerows adjacent to the siite Approximate Site Extents Proper es on Mountba en Way Lees Road PHOTO VIEWPOINT : View south east towards the site from Public Footpath adjacent to Lees Road Pilgrims Way Hope Farm Towards the site (Northern edge of Brabourne Lees) Cadmans Wood PHOTO VIEWPOINT : Long Distance view south towards the site from Pilgrims Way

5 05 FACILITIES What are the local facili es? The site is sustainably located with easy access to local facili es, public transport links and the local footpath network. The proposed residen al development would be ideally located for access to nearby open space, with an extensive footpath network surrounding the site. The local bus routes would provide access to Ashford, Willesborough, Folkestone and Hythe via a number of regular services. 00m (0 Mins) 00m (5 Mins) 00m (0 Mins) 00m (5 Mins) Proposed Site Boundary Place of Worship Local Convenience Store Local Bus Stops Distance from centre of site/walking me Public House/Restaurant Public Footpaths/Bridleways Local Bus Routes Primary School Village Hall Post O ce

6 0 CONSTRAINTS & OPPORTUNITIES The assessment of the site and its surroundings has iden ed a number of features which should be protected, retained and enhanced wherever possible as part of the development proposals for the site. These considera ons provide the opportuni es and constraints for development and have been used to inform the prepara on of the Framework Plan. 0m 5m 7 5m Lees Road 0 5 0m Mountbatten Way 5 0 Canterbury Road Application Boundary:.7Ha Consider Views from Surrounding Countryside Existing Ditch Existing Hedgerows and Trees 5 Potential Location for Proposed Balancing Ponds Proposed Drainage Ditch/ Swale Potential Vehicular Access Points off Lees Road Consider Views from adjacent Properties and Streets Existing Public Right of Way 0 Area Effected by Local Flooding 7 Existing Field Pond Listed Building Line of Existing Telecoms/ Overhead Cables

7 07 THE FRAMEWORK The Framework Plan addresses the iden ed constraints and opportuni es. Areas of green infrastructure wrap around the proposed development area crea ng a landscape bu er that will both respect and reinforce exis ng trees and vegeta on to provide a so er green edge to new built form. The green infrastructure of the site, which covers more than % of the total site area, will accommodate new tree and shrub plan ng, a centrally located and equipped children s play area, habitat corridors, balancing ponds (SuDS), and tra c free pedestrian routes (including the retained public footpath). N 7 Lees Road 0 5 Mountba Mountbatten Way Canterbury ury Road Application Boundary:.7Ha Open Space: 5.0Ha including; Existing Public Right of Way Development:.Ha = 7dph Existing Hedgerows and Trees 7 Existing Field Pond (enhanced) Vehicular Access Point off Lees Road Equipped Play Area Existing Ditch Main Development Road 5 Proposed Balancing Ponds Proposed Drainage Ditch/ Swale Potential SUDs & Wxisting Waterbodies Potential Pedestrian Links 0 Proposed Emergency Access Link

8 0 THANK YOU Have Your Say Thank you for taking the time to view this information. Your comments and suggestions will be taken into account when formulating the final planning application submission. All comments and feedback will be provided to the Local Planning Authority as part of the planning application. Comments can be sent via the website: PUBLIC CONSULTATION Potential Residential Development LEES ROAD, BRABOURNE LEES Land off Eastbourne Road, Uckfield Or you can respond by (using Brabourne Lees as the subject line) Or by post: Your Views Brabourne Lees Gladman Developments Ltd. Gladman House Alexandria Way Congleton CW LB Gladman consider all correspondence received and our response to the issues raised will be set out in a Statement of Community Involvement (SCI). As part of the planning application, Gladman will submit a complete copy of all correspondence received (including any details such as your name, address and where you have provided them) to the Local Planning Authority. This ensures all your comments are available to the Council during their consideration of the application and shows who we have consulted. As the SCI forms part of the formal application documents, the Council may publish it online, subject to their own Data Protection policies. Should the application be the subject of an appeal, the same information will be forwarded to the Planning Inspectorate. If further consultation is carried out as part of the planning process, Gladman may use your details to make you aware of this and to ask for your views, but will not use this information for any other purpose.