South of Hillside Road West, Rothbury. Design and Access Statement with Design Code. Outline Planning Application May 2016

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1 Outline Planning Application May 2016 Design and Access Statement with Design Code Jane Darbyshire and David Kendall Ltd

2 This Design and Access Statement has been produced by Jane Darbyshire and David Kendall Architects for The Northumberland Estates Introduction: The outline proposals for self-build plots on the south side of Hillside Road West in Rothbury are made in response to an identified housing need and a wish to protect and enhance the local environment having regard to layout, scale, appearance, access and landscaping. Assessment the site pages 1 4 constraints and opportunities page 5 Proposals use, amount and site layout page 6 & 7 site sections page 8 & 9 Design Code page 11 & 12 contents

3 The south of Hillside Road West site is located to the west of Rothbury town centre. The 0.86 hectare site is an approximate rectangle in shape (approximately 177m x 50m) along with two stretches of land along the road to the east. There is a significant fall across the site from approximately north to south varying from approximately 8m to 11m. The site is currently open field/pasture land and there are no existing trees or other natural features of any significance on the site. To the west of the site is a group of detached houses set along both sides of Hillside Road West. Those on the south side also have significantly sloping plots and some are split level properties accessed from approximate road level (e.g. Dovecrags immediately west of the site), and some have stepped access from a higher parking area to a lower development level. B6341 To the north of the site there are a number of detached properties set in elevated positions as the land continues to rise to the north, within generous plots and largely set some distance back from the road. Along this length of Hillside Road West there are grass verges on either side and on the south side a low stone wall before the land falls away to the south. There is an existing drain running diagonally north west to south east to the west of the site and there are overhead cables to the south and east off the site. There are impressive south facing views from the site across the Coquet valley and the site itself is visible from the south from both the B6341 on the north side of the River and from Carterside Road on the south side of the valley Carterside Road Hillside Road West the site 1 View looking west along Hillside Road West, site is on the left hand side of the road

4 Existing site plan existing contours shown in green Existing site sections the site 2

5 Looking south west from Hillside Road West, across development site to Coquet valley, existing split level dwelling Dovecrags ahead. Existing split level dwelling Dovecrags Top left: View along Hillside Road West, looking west. Development site and Coquet valley on left hand side of road, existing dwelling High Norland in elevated position on right hand side of the road, split level dwelling Dovecrags immediately west of the site seen in the distance the site Middle left: View further west along Hillside Road West, looking west. Development site and Coquet valley on left hand side of road, existing dwelling White Gables in elevated position on right hand side of the road, split level dwelling Dovecrags immediately west of the site seen ahead 3 Bottom left: Dwellings further west on Hillside Road West set at lower development levels, with parking at higher level

6 Approximate extent of development site Left: Looking north from Carterside Road, across the Coquet Valley. Existing dwellings along Hillside Road West visible. Below: View looking north from the B6341. Existing dwellings on Hillside Road West visible. Approximate extent of development site the site 4 Three relatively recently constructed dwellings north of Hillside Road West, north of the west end of the site. These dwellings are not shown on the aerial photographs in this document.

7 Constraints: 1 Fall on the land from north to south 2 The relatively narrow Hillside Road West with no footpath connection to the town centre 3 Potential loss privacy for houses on the north side of Hillside Road West, and the property immediately to the west. 4 The existing drain to the west of the site and the overhead cable to the south and east 5 The need to ensure there is capacity within the plots for a car to enter and exit the plot in a forward direction Opportunities: 6 To create a proposal that will offer self-build plots that maximise the opportunities for homes with south facing aspect and views over the Coquet Valley, that will create a high quality development, in keeping with the development pattern in the area and appropriate to this edge of Rothbury 7 To improve the pedestrian access from Hillside Road West to the town centre 8 To improve highways safety on Hillside Road West by inclusion of a vehicle passing place and constraints and opportunities

8 The proposed use of the site is as a high quality residential development. The amount of development, at a density of just under 10.5 dwellings per hectare, is appropriate for this part of Rothbury and reflects the development density of existing dwellings on this western part of Hillside Road West. This density allows appropriate plot sizes for the likely 3-5 bedroom houses that will be developed, to allow for the changes in levels across the plots and provide sufficient space for car parking and turning (as shown indicatively on the proposed drawings). The nine plots reflect the type of plot layout that already exists off Hillside Road West, providing opportunities for south facing dwellings and gardens commanding views across the Coquet Valley. The design of the plots avoids both the existing drain to the west and the existing overhead cables to the south and east. The 9 plots all have access directly from Hillside Road West, a grass verge and boundary wall giving a set back to each frontage that provides appropriate sight lines for vehicles exiting each plot. use, amount and site layout Pedestrian access is provided by a 1.2m footway, suitable for this rural location, on the south side of the road for the most part, and then at its east end crossing to the north side of the road where it connects with the existing footpath network to the centre of Rothbury. 6 A vehicle passing place has been included part way along Hillside Road West in order to enhance highways safety and convenience for drivers.

9 Indicative photomontage showing development plots as viewed from the south, from Carterside Road Indicative plot and house layouts in the context of Hillside Road West. (Three recently constructed new dwellings on the north side of the road, opposite the west end of the site are not shown on the aerial photograph see photograph on page 4) use, amount and site layout 7

10 (Existing levels shown in blue) A B C A B C Indicative Site Section A The three Site Sections show indicatively how the development of plots can be designed to address the north-south level change across the site and minimise impact on existing dwellings to the north of the road. The steepness of the level change is less at the western end of the site so here development can be achieved by creating a gently sloping parking area and front garden that gives direct level access to the upper level of a split level house that is single storey at the northern roadside and drops to two storey at the southern garden side. A terraced garden design is also shown indicatively. Indicative Site Section B This arrangement reflects that of the house immediately to the west of the site as well as some others on Hillside Road West further west and is shown in sections A and B. This response to the sloping site is likely to be achievable for the five westerly plots. Further east the fall across the site is steeper and so level access is harder to achieve and there is likely to be a need for stepped access from a parking/front garden area, down to a development level. This arrangement is shown indicatively on Section C and reflects the development type that is seen on a number of plots to the west of the site. site sections 8 Indicative Site Section C

11 Elevational treatment of proposed dwellings shown indicatively only Indicative Site Section D Elevational treatment of proposed dwellings shown indicatively only Indicative Site Section E D E E D site sections 9

12 The following Design Code provides a framework for future design proposals for self-build plots on the site: 1.00 Plot layout: Northern plot boundary set back from Hillside Road West by 2.5m Northern plot boundary to be mm high stone wall Front garden area to accommodate car parking and space for vehicles to turn, so that entrance and exit can happen in a forward direction layout shown here is indicative of how this can be achieved, other layouts would also be acceptable. Dwelling footprints set back from Hillside Road West by a minimum of 11.5m Western most dwelling to have no habitable room windows on western gable that would face existing property Dovecrags to the west, and gable to be a minimum of 15m from Dovecrags Min 11.5m New dwellings to be located so that there is a minimum of 25m between proposed habitable room windows and existing dwellings on the north side of Hillside Road West Min 15m Min 25m Min 25m design code 10

13 2.00 Development heights and site section: Height of roof ridge to be a maximum of 5.5m above the level of Hillside Road West in front of the property Accommodation to be no more than single storey plus room in the roof facing north and two storey plus room in the roof facing south. Dormer windows serving rooms in the roof will be acceptable in principle. South facing gardens to be sloping and/or terraced in order to minimise heights of retaining walls to a maximum of 1.8m high Indicative Site Section B Two storey plus room in the roof Single storey plus room in the roof Max 5.5m Sloping and/or terraced gardens, retaining walls a maximum if 1.8m high Part indicative Site Section D, looking south from Hillside Road West Single storey plus room in the roof viewed from Hillside Road West design code 11 Two storey plus room in the roof viewed from the south Part indicative Site Section E, looking north from south of the plot boundaries