South Aylesbury (AGT1)

AYL01: South Aylesbury (AGT1) Land Use Requirements: The site as shown on the Policies Map is allocated for a comprehensively planned, mixed-use development. Residential: a) The site will deliver approximately 1,350 dwellings, at a density that takes account of the adjacent settlement character and identify and supporting infrastructure. b) Provision of 5 Gypsy and Traveller pitches will be provided within the site. Centre and Community Uses: a) A combined 2FE primary school will be delivered on site, including playing field provision and car parking. b) A new local centre will be delivered on site which will include retail and appropriate car parking. c) A new community building will be delivered on site which should provide for car parking and where there is a need, a ‘Touchdown’ facility for Thames Valley Police. Green Infrastructure and Open Space: a) Multi-functional green infrastructure will be provided on site. b) Provide and maintain the management of 50% green infrastructure which links to other new development areas and the wider countryside as part of a high quality built and seminatural environment. Transport Infrastructure: a) Land is safeguarded for the delivery of the Aylesbury Southeast Link Road (SEALR) dual carriageway between A413 Wendover Road and B4443 Lower Road (now under construction) which will cross the railway line and provide sufficient land for associated works including but not limited to earthworks, drainage and structures. b) Deliver new access points into the development parcels from the B4443 Lower Road and A413 Wendover Road which minimise direct access from SEALR and supports cohesive development. Development Principles: a) Development should integrate the new development with the existing built area of Aylesbury and Stoke Mandeville and responds positively to the best characteristics of the surrounding area. b) A landscape buffer should be provided between the new development and Stoke Mandeville where possible to maintain the setting and individual identity of the settlement of Stoke Mandeville. c) Retain the Grade II listed Magpie Cottage within an appropriate setting informed by Heritage Impact Assessment. d) A financial contribution should be provided for off-site primary healthcare facilities for the reconfiguration or expansion of an existing GP practice, or a new GP practice, in agreement with the Integrated Care Board (ICB). e) Retain where possible existing vegetation, including existing hedgerows. f) Retain and enhance existing habitats where possible, including the creation of linkages with surrounding wildlife assets and green corridors linking development with the wider countryside and surrounding communities. g) Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) and Strategic Access Management and Monitoring (SAMMS) contributions, in line with policies NE12, NE13, NE14 and the latest Mitigation Strategy. Permission will not be granted if appropriate mitigation is not provided. h) Designed using a landscape-led approach including consideration of the long-distance views of the Chilterns National Landscape and the field pattern and landscape features on the site. i) Provide detailed modelling to confirm 1 in 20-, 100-and 1,000-year extents and 1 in 100 years plus climate change extents on the ordinary watercourse (see SFRA Level 2 main report 2026). j) Have undertaken Surface water modelling to define the level of surface water risk and the risk areas/flow paths. Climate change should be modelled using the +40% allowance (February 2016) for rainfall intensity. A surface water drainage strategy should ensure that the development does not increase flood risk elsewhere. k) Seek to mitigate against potential surface water flooding of Stoke Mandeville Hospital l) Model the risk of overtopping or breach of the Aylesbury Arm (Grand Union Canal). m) Are designed using a sequential approach. Flood Zones 2 and 3, and 3a plus climate change (subject to a detailed flood risk assessment) should be preserved as green space. Built development should be restricted to Flood Zone 1. n) Design drainage which should be ‘designed for exceedance’ and accommodate existing surface water flow routes, with development located outside surface water flood areas. o) Provide proportionate financial contribution to the Southeast Aylesbury Link Road (SEALR) which will go towards repayment of the Housing and Infrastructure Fund. p) Access to and from the SEALR will not be supported unless it can be demonstrated that all other options, including taking access through neighbouring sites, are incapable of providing access to the northern land parcel from Lower Road. q) The site will deliver suitable walking and cycling routes to improve connectivity between the site and key destination including but not limited to Stoke Mandeville Railway Station and the hospital. r) Provide provision for public transport into the town and to surrounding areas. s) Integrate existing public rights of way into the development within safe and secure environments as part of a wider network of sustainable routes, to directly and appropriately link the site with surrounding communities and facilities. 6.246 The site is approximately 92.8ha in size. Boarding the site is a variety of residential rear boundaries. In addition, the northwestern edge is with Stoke Mandeville Hospital, with car parking and rear facades of the hospital buildings predominating. The southern edge adjoining Stoke Mandeville village is mixed residential rear boundaries and some existing green spaces. The site is also bounded by Lower Road to the west and Wendover Road to the east. The topography of the site and surrounding area is flat which allows for views to the east and west which continue across open countryside. 6.247 The site lies within Flood Zone 1 and is crossed by several ordinary watercourses and drainage ditches. Whilst no significant fluvial flood risk constraints have been identified across most of the site, detailed assessment and modelling of flood risk, surface water drainage and climate change impacts will be required to inform the design and layout of development. The site is currently in agricultural use and includes a network of hedgerows, ditches and other habitats which contribute to local ecological value. Ecological surveys have identified habitats and species that will require appropriate avoidance, mitigation and enhancement measures, including provision for ground-nesting birds and the retention and enhancement of habitat connectivity across the site. 6.248 One public right of way exists across the site and uses a level crossing to cross the railway line. The site comprises of five parcels of land but have now been promoted as a single site for this local plan. These parcels are: a) Land around Red House Farm, Lower Road. b) Land north of Stoke Mandeville adjacent Lower Road. c) Land south of Aylesbury adjacent to Wendover Road. d) Land between the Aylesbury-Amersham railway line and Wendover Road; and e) Land straddling the Aylesbury-Amersham railway line north of Stoke Mandeville 6.249 The five parcels are allocated together as the South Aylesbury (AGT1) to support a comprehensive and coordinated approach to development and infrastructure delivery. Although the parcels are physically separated by the Aylesbury-Amersham railway line and the Southeast Aylesbury Link Road (SEALR), they share common infrastructure, transport and green infrastructure requirements that are most effectively planned on an allocation-wide basis. This approach enables the cumulative impacts and infrastructure needs of the allocation to be addressed in a coordinated way, rather than through piecemeal development of individual parcels. 6.250 Given the large number of smaller parcels that make up this allocation, an overall site masterplan is essential to ensure a co-ordinated and comprehensive approach to development, and to guide phasing of the site and infrastructure requirements. This must include a coordinated approach to vehicular access which will be achieved from the B4443 Lower Road and A413 Wendover Road and other infrastructure requirements. 6.251 The Southeast Aylesbury Link Road (SEALR) forms an important piece of infrastructure serving the South Aylesbury (AGT1) allocation. The section of the SEALR that passes through the allocation (Phase 1) is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in late 2026. The wider SEALR scheme includes Phase 2, which opened in November 2025. 6.252 Part of the site lies within the Zone of Influence of Chilterns Beechwoods SAC which affects the land to the east of the railway line and as such appropriate SANG and SAMM mitigation is required. It is anticipated that the site could secure credits at Kingsbrook Meadows strategic SANG. The access to the land to the west of the railway line would be off Lower Road, which is outside of the zone of influence, the land west of the railway line therefore would not be required to provide a SANG. 6.253 There are applications pending consideration for housing, but also include a primary school, community hall, sports and local centre, covering different parcels of land within the allocation. A significant proportion of development is proposed within outline application 19/01628/AOP this application, for up to 650 dwellings, was submitted by in April 2019 for the land west of the railway line. The application is at an advanced stage of being considered by the council. A further application (23/01967/AOP) was submitted for up to five hundred dwellings in June 2023.