Orchard Hill - London Borough of Sutton Hill Docu… · Orchard Hill Hospital 1.9 Orchard Hill Hospital, Carshalton stands in the grounds of the former Queen Mary’s Hospital for

Orchard Hill | Supplementary Planning Document | Draft

Contents Page

1. Introduction 1

2. Key Issues and Opportunities 7

3. Planning Policy Framework 13

4. Development Framework Concept 21

5. Implementation 37

6. Planning Application 41


1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 This Draft Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) has been produced in accordance with the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 for purposes of public consultation. It provides a planning and design framework to guide the redevelopment of Orchard Hill Hospital, Fountain Drive, Carshalton. The location of the site and its relationship to the surrounding area is shown on Figure 1.1.

1.2 The key areas referred to in the SPD are identified within Figure 1.2 overleaf.

Orchard Hill SPDLocation PlanFigure 1.1

Not to Scale

Barking and

Dagenham

Barnet

Bexley

Brent

Bromley

Camden

Croydon

Ealing

Enfield

Greenwich

Hackney

Ham

mers m

ith

Haringey Harrow

Havering

Hounslow

Hillingdon

Islington

City

Kingston

Lambeth

Lewisham

Merton

Newham

Redbridge

Richmond

Southwark

Sutton

Tower Hamlets

Waltham Forest

Wandsworth

Westminster

Kens in

gto

n

London Boroughof SuttonWorcester Park

Orchard HillSPD Boundary

CarshaltonBeeches

Sutton

Cheam

Carshalton

Wallington

Purley

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PURPOSE OF SUPPLEMENTARYPLANNING DOCUMENT (SPD)

1.3 The SPD, when approved, will guide the development of the site and will assist the council in determining future planning applications at the site. The SPD supplements policies contained in the Sutton UDP.

Supporting Documents

1.4 The SPD will be accompanied by 3 supporting documents:

A Sustainability Appraisal Report (SAR) provides an ●

assessment of the environmental, economic and social impacts of the SPD document;

The Statement of Community Consultation provides ●

a summary of consultation undertaken to inform the preparation of the SPD.

Supporting technical annexes including a ●

transport statement.

1.5 The SPD identifies two approaches to developing the site the Preferred Development Proposal incorporating a new secondary school with residential development and other uses and an Alternative Development Proposal for a residential development with other uses.

Within the public consultation draft of the SPD both proposals were presented as being equally appropriate. The Council has now formally approved the selection of Orchard Hill as the preferred location for the new Stanley Park School to meet the need for enhanced education facilities within the area. Consultation on the Draft SPD indicated that a majority were in favour of relocation of the school to Orchard Hill.

The Council will consider proposals relating to the site on their merits. However, it is preferable that part of the site is used to accommodate a new secondary school.

Preferred Development Proposals ● - includes the relocation of Stanley Park High School to the site under the Government’s Building School for the Future with predominantly residential uses occupying the remainder of the site; and

Alternative Development Proposals ● – comprises of a residential-led scheme with public open space.

1.6 For both the preferred land development options, the SPD will ensure that development of Orchard Hill is undertaken in an appropriate manner whilst reflecting its designation as a Major Developed Site within the Green Belt in the Sutton Unitary Development Plan (UDP Policy OE6). In particular the SPD considers the following issues in relation to the site:

Its Green Belt location and high landscape value ●

defined in the UDP;

Sensitive neighbouring land uses including the ●

Diamond Riding Centre and existing residential properties;

Views of the site from areas outside of the site; ●

Transport needs associated with the ●

development; and

Proximity to sensitive Sites of Importance for Nature ●

Conservation (SINC) and a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM).

1.7 The document has been partly informed by previous work carried out at the site and establishes a


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framework to guide future development which reflects constraints and opportunities associated

with the site.

1.8 The following issues are considered for each development option:

Quantum of development and density options; ●

Land use distribution and site layout; ●

Height and massing; ●

Potential site access; ●

Potential public transport accessibility, highways ●

capacity and road safety issues; and

Development principles and ●

design considerations.

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE FOR DEVELOPMENT

Orchard Hill Hospital

1.9 Orchard Hill Hospital, Carshalton stands in the grounds of the former Queen Mary’s Hospital for sick children which was built was built in 1890. Orchard Hill Hospital has provided accommodation for people with learning disabilities since 1959.

1.10 In March 2001, the Department of Health published

a White Paper, ‘Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disabilities for the 21st century’. It set out the national policy direction for learning disabilities services and included the target that all long stay hospitals should be closed by April 2004. Government policy is now to give people with learning disabilities the opportunity to live in their local community and to provide NHS in-patient care only where there is a need for continuous medical supervision.

1.11 In addition, the National Care Standards Act 2002 requires providers of residential care to meet detailed quality standards. The majority of the buildings and facilities at Orchard Hill are old and in need of significant redevelopment to bring them up to an acceptable standard. This would involve major investment and disruption to those living there. Some of the residential buildings, for example, cannot provide the most basic rights of privacy. Orchard Hill is now the last long-stay hospital still in operation in the UK, and it is anticipated that the site will close shortly.

Stanley Park High School

1.12 The Preferred Development Proposals incorporate the relocation of Stanley Park High School to the Orchard Hill Site. Although the existing school buildings are well maintained, much of the accommodation is dated and considered to be unsuitable for modern educational needs. The London Borough of Sutton has secured funding for the redevelopment of the School under the Government’s Building Schools for the Future ‘One School Pathfinder’ Scheme. The vision for the school is:

“to develop the over-riding expectation that all

those associated with the school will develop to realise their full potential thereby ensuring that achievement and success are the norm”.

1.13 An assessment was undertaken which ranked suitable sites. Redevelopment of the existing site was identified as the most sustainable option in environmental terms. However, other factors also informed the selection of Orchard Hill as the Councils preferred site. Two key issues were funding and deliverability.

Creating a New Community

1.14 The Orchard Hill site also offers the opportunity to create a new residential community, linking into the existing adjacent neighbourhoods. The site allows for the delivery new homes of a range of size and tenures within a high quality landscaped framework.


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Vision for Orchard Hill

1.15 The vision for Orchard Hill is as follows: “To make optimal use of the development

opportunity offered by Orchard Hill. The redevelopment will respect and enhance the site’s landscape, heritage and natural assets, whilst integrating with existing communities and delivering a distinctive, sustainable solution”.

THE SITE

Location

1.16 The Orchard Hill Site is located in the Carshalton South and Clockhouse Ward in the London Borough of Sutton at the southern edge of the urban area. Excluding the transport depot located in the north of the site, the rest of the site is situated in the Metropolitan Green Belt.

1.17 Carshalton is the nearest centre to the site and provides a range of facilities. To the north, east and west of the SPD boundary is residential use whilst uses to the south west of the site include the former BIBRA research laboratories and the Diamond Riding Centre. South and east of the SPD boundary is Green Belt land which accommodates predominantly agricultural uses and small holdings.

1.18 The site is typified by high quality mature wooded landscape. Areas of the site also have views south, one of which is designated as part of a Significant View in the UDP. In the Annual Monitoring Report (2004/05) the area is shown as having areas of landscape value ranging from average to high landscape quality.

Access

1.18 Fountain Drive provides the main access point to the north of the site which connects with Queen Mary Avenue. The site is served by a road hierarchy comprising Damson Way, Elm Avenue and Farm Lane which radiate across the site from the east to west from a central access road.

1.19 Public transport accessibility to the site based on current provision is considered poor (PTAL level 1a). Carshalton Beeches is the closest railway station and is around 1200 metres from the southern part of the Orchard Hill Site. The closest bus route to the site is S4, which runs between Roundshaw – St Helier every 20 minutes and stops in Stanley Square, approximately 380m to the north east of the site.

Ownership

1.20 Most of Orchard Hill is owned and managed by Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust. The Queen Elizabeth Mobility Centre owns their own site and the area of land to the North. Existing buildings on the site excluding the transport depot to the north comprise of a footprint of some 15,260 sq.m.

Aerial View of Existing Orchard Hill Site


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SPD OBJECTIVES

1.21 The objectives for the Orchard Hill SPD have been established through reference to the site’s policy context as set out in Section 4. The SPD objectives are:

Objective 1: To create a sustainable ●

development in a broad sense. Principles of sustainable development provide the overarching approach to the redevelopment of the site. Tackling issues such as: delivering good and inclusive design; maximising travel by sustainable modes; ensuring equality of opportunity and access to housing and the countryside; providing sustainable waste management; maximising use of renewable energy; protecting cultural and natural resources; and sustainable construction are fundamental to the scheme.

Objective 2: To provide a robust and flexible ●

framework capable of including a new secondary school. A key objective of the SPD is to provide a framework for the development of a state-of-the-art secondary school, including a range of outdoor recreation facilities making optimal use of the site’s green belt location.

Objective 3: To establish a new community ●

incorporating an integrated mix of high quality housing and appropriate community amenities. The site provides the opportunity to develop a new neighbourhood with new homes of a range of sizes and tenures. Affordable housing should be indistinguishable from and integrated with the market housing.

Objective 4: To ensure that Orchard Hill has ●

a clearly identifiable character and positive identity. The site’s urban fringe context and mature landscape setting provide a framework for the development of distinctive scheme with its own identity and character.

Objective 5: To create a place that is easy to get ●

to and move through. Movement to, from and within the site will be provided by a network of connected spaces and routes. As well as efficient vehicular access, the development of site will deliver high quality pedestrian and cycle access and improved public transport facilities.

Objective 6: To create and enhance public ●

access to the countryside. The redevelopment of Orchard Hill provides opportunities to both improve existing and create new connections between the urban area and the countryside.

Objective 7: To make the most of site’s context ●

and assets while ensuring that there are no significant adverse environmental impacts. The development of the site will deliver improved management of the area’s existing resources including the adjacent Site of Interest for Nature Conservation, the Scheduled Ancient Monument and public open space. The scheme must also respect the broader landscape context and natural and built environment, to ensure that there are no significant adverse impacts.

Objective 8: To deliver wider community ●

benefits. The redevelopment of Orchard Hill will deliver benefits to the wider community in terms of improved bus services, improved access to the countryside and improved management of existing assets. If the school is developed, this will provide a range of opportunities for community access to sports, arts and other facilities.