Hoo St Werburgh and Chattenden Neighbourhood Plan - Regulation 16

6. Place and Heritage

Purpose

To protect and enhance the historic environment of Hoo and to ensure that new development is well-designed and sustainable.

Evidence and Planning Rationale

National Policy

Chapter 12 of the NPPF deals with 'Achieving well-designed places'. Design considerations include function, adding to the quality of the area, visual attractiveness, effective landscaping, being sympathetic to local character and history, not discouraging innovation and change, maintain strong and distinctive sense of place, optimise site potential, and making safe, inclusive and accessible places.

This is augmented by the National Design Guide (2021) which states that well- designed places have ten characteristics. These are context, nature, identity, use, resources, movement, built form, public space, homes and buildings, and lifespan.

Chapter 16 of the NPPF deals with 'Conserving and enhancing the historic environment'. This includes consideration of sustaining or enhancing heritage assets, wider social, economic and cultural benefits, contribution of new development, and character of place.

Local Policy

The Medway Local Plan 2003 contains various policies relating to design and the historic environment. These are now somewhat out-of-date due to the age of the plan, changes to national policy and guidance, the introduction of the National Model Design Code 2021, and the increasing priority given to climate change. However, many policies are still consistent with the NPPF and have been recognised as such by a number of planning inspectors in appeal cases.

Policy S2 (Strategic Principles) includes reference to design standards. Policy S4 deals with urban design, but in very vague terms.

Chapter 3 deals with the Built and Natural Environment. The most relevant policies are:

• BNE1 General Principles includes fairly general design requirements.
• BNE6 Landscape Design
• BNE28: Farm Diversification

The Neighbourhood Plan sets more specific design requirements and takes account of more recent guidance.

Other Documents

The Hoo St Werburgh Design Codes document prepared by AECOM (November 2021) has informed the design policy and its interpretation, and also later policies on landscape and transport.

The National Model Design Code and other guidance, including Building for a Healthy Life, have informed the following design policy.

Historic England's Hoo Peninsula Historic Landscape Report 2015 describes the local landscape, including military heritage.

Planning Background

Good design is fundamental to achieving sustainable development. Quality of environment is an important factor in creating places where people want to live, work, spend leisure time and invest.

Hoo has a varied heritage, including the Grade I listed Church. Much heritage is in productive use. However, it is important to recognise the importance of heritage that can't be used, but is important for education and in attracting visitors. Hoo was declared a defended village during WW2 and a trench was dug from the river Medway to Cliffe with various pillboxes and road barriers to stop an overland invasion. The trenches have since been filled in but dozens of structures still remain. There is clearly potential for the Hoo Stop Line to be harmed considerably by ill- conceived development. This consideration is incorporated into the heritage policy. More detailed analysis is in the Hoo Peninsula Kent 2^nd World War Stop Line, Hoo St Werburgh to Higham Marshes, 2014.

Interpretation

The policy addresses character and sustainability, supporting green design in particular. The policy requires a holistic approach to design, with a focus not just on buildings, but in creating attractive places with a high quality of public realm. The policy should not be interpreted as requiring stylistic imitation or preventing high quality contemporary design.

Too often, designs are based on highway requirements, division into plots, standard house types and landscaping of leftover bits. Such an approach will not meet the requirements of the policy.

Active frontages could be created from use of windows, doors, balconies and other features. The design and access statement submitted with some planning applications provides the opportunity to explain how the requirements of the policy have been met.

Design of new public realm should include consideration of a diverse range of activities and accommodate different users. Development adjoining public open spaces and should enhance their character by providing positive building or landscape frontages.

Green design features to reduce carbon use could include:

• use of efficient heating and cooling systems, or design to reduce dependency on heating and cooling systems.
• superior insulation properties and airtightness;
• orientation to take account of climate;
• natural ventilation and air flow to help avoid over-heating in warmer weather;
• use of local, low-embodied energy, recycled and recyclable materials;
• living (green) walls or roofs as part of the design;
• rainwater capture, storage and reuse (grey water);
• inclusion of space for natural drying clothes;
• flexible spaces and layouts to accommodate changing demands;
• sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) incorporated into the landscape design;
• use of traditional hedges for boundary treatments, to create a greener environment;
• use of native species in planting;
• local green energy schemes such as ground heat pumps, photovoltaics, biomass and other technologies;
• micro-generation, including solar panels;
• reusing and retrofitting existing buildings to maintain the embodied energy used in their construction, whilst also avoiding landfill.

Even minor development can include features to reduce carbon use, for example in the careful choice and specification of materials.

The colour and finish of solar panels and how they reflect light should be chosen to fit in with the building or surroundings. The solar PV panels should be carefully positioned and laid out so that they are in proportion to the building and its features.

In designing public realm and paths, it is good practice to consider adaptation and resilience against extreme weather.

The Hoo St Werburgh Design Codes document prepared by AECOM (November 2021) and the National Model Design Code may be useful in securing compliance with the policy.

Water Infrastructure Guidelines

New and improved utility infrastructure is encouraged and supported in order to meet the identified needs of the community.

Southern Water recommends as a minimum the tighter Building Regulations optional standard for water efficiency of 110 litres per person per day.

Southern Water highlights opportunities provided by new developments and improvements in green and other infrastructure to reduce the causes and impacts of flooding (making as much use as possible of natural flood management techniques as part of an integrated approach to flood risk management). Well-designed sustainable drainage systems help to reduce the volume of surface water entering the foul sewer system – which could help to reduce localised flooding and, in turn, help to minimise pollution events. Sustainable drainage systems will therefore be key to helping neighbourhoods respond to the impacts of climate change into the future.

Southern Water has criteria for SuDS adoption, so early engagement with them is encouraged. Medway Council also has guidance on SuDS.

Southern Water advises the Local Planning Authorities to consult on all major development applications within its wastewater service area.

Interpretation

The policy protects designated and non-designated heritage and highlights the particular local and national importance of war-related heritage assets. The Hoo Stop Line includes listed structures and non-designated heritage.

Listed Buildings and Scheduled Monuments

Source: Historic England (2022)

Buildings of local interest (non-designated)

• The Five Bells public house, Village Centre;
• Library (originally a school built in 1894), Church Street, Hoo;
• Yew Tree Lodge Residential Care Home (originally a school built in 1875), Stoke Road, Hoo;
• Former National School Building in Church Street (c. 1836);
• Old bomb disposal buildings at Lodge Hill;
• Hoo Institute, Main Road;
• Windmill former Pub (health centre), Ratcliffe Highway and surrounding fields;
• Millers Cottage, Ratcliffe Highway;

Aerial view of Chattenden and Hoo Common.