Aylesbury north of A41 (AGT3)

AYL03: Aylesbury north of A41 (AGT3) Land Use Requirements: Land North of A41, Aylesbury as shown on the Policies Map, is allocated for a comprehensively planned, mixed-use development. The allocation comprises three principal land parcels: a) Land at Manor Farm – approximately 29.1ha b) Aylesbury Woodlands – approximately 200ha (mixed-use including employment and residential) c) Land at College Farm – approximately 12.9ha Residential: a) The site will deliver approximately 1,700 dwellings alongside supporting infrastructure and employment uses. b) In addition, sixty extra care units (Use Class C2) will be provided within the site. Employment: a) Approximately 102,800 sqm of employment floorspace (Use Classes E(g), B2 and B8) will be delivered on site, including the delivery of the Aylesbury Woodlands Enterprise Zone Centres and Community Uses: a) A local centre of approximately 4,000 sqm (Use Classes E, F1, F2 and sui generis uses) will be delivered on site. b) A two-form entry primary school (approximately 2ha, Use Class F1) is required to be delivered within the site. c) Approximately 6,000 sqm hotel and conference facility (Use Class C1) is to be provided on site. Green Infrastructure and Open Space: a) Approximately 16ha sports village and pitches will be delivered on site. b) On site, a network of open space will be delivered which includes: c) Play space. d) Informal and formal open space e) Allotments/community orchards f) Woodland areas g) A minimum of 50% Green Infrastructure (GI) across the site Transport and access: a) Development must provide primary access from the Eastern Link Road (South) and not rely on access from Broughton Lane. It should deliver strategic connections to the Eastern Link Road (ELR) and the A41 and provide high-quality active travel routes linking Aylesbury and surrounding areas. b) Development at Manor Farm will not be occupied until the ELR (South) is completed and open to traffic. c) Contributions will be required towards the ELR (South), including recovery of Housing and Infrastructure (HIF) investment. Active Travel and Flood Infrastructure: a) Strategic link road connecting to the Eastern Link Road (North and South) and A41 b) Walking, wheeling and cycling routes connecting to Aylesbury and surrounding areas. c) Land should safeguard land for the potential future need to dual key roads. d) Flood mitigation infrastructure including sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) Employment and Economic Development: Proposals must: a)Deliver the Enterprise Zone objectives and support tradeable activities within at least one of Buckinghamshire’s high-value sectors (as set out in the Buckinghamshire Economic Growth Plan) and can demonstrate significant potential to contribute to productivity growth. b)Demonstrate contribution to: a. Local supply chains b. Skills development and employment (in accordance with Policy EC3) c. Digital infrastructure and economic resilience c) Provide for the timely delivery of employment land, coordinated with residential development. Safeguarding Employment Land Existing and planned for employment land will be safeguarded. Alternative uses will only be supported where it is robustly demonstrated that: a) The employment use is no longer required or viable (see DM policy EC1); and b) The proposal would not undermine the delivery of the Enterprise Zone or wider Local Plan strategy. Development principles: Development will be permitted where proposals: a) Deliver a comprehensively planned garden community which is integrated with the existing built-up area of Aylesbury. b) Respect and maintain the separate identity and setting of Broughton. c) Respond positively to the Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Union Canal, the Chilterns National Landscape setting and existing landscape and settlement character. d) Provide a high-quality built and landscaped environment. e) Retain and enhance existing vegetation, hedgerows and woodland, public rights of way which are integrated into a safe and connected network and deliver green corridors linking the site to the wider countryside Developers should consider utilising the southern section of the site as a green corridor for flood mitigation. f) A detailed 1D-2D detailed hydraulic model of the unnamed ordinary watercourse in the southwest of the site, based on topographic survey of the watercourse channel, may be required at FRA stage to accurately represent the risk from this watercourse and set the height of any mitigation measures. g) The risk from surface water flow routes should be quantified as part of a site-specific FRA, including a drainage strategy, so runoff magnitudes from the development are not increased by development across any ephemeral surface water flow routes. A drainage strategy should help inform site layout and design to ensure runoff rates are as close as possible to pre-development greenfield rates, with areas of surface water ponding used as open space and SuDS or water compatible/essential infrastructure uses only. h) Seek to mitigate against potential surface water flooding of Stoke Mandeville Hospital i) Model the risk of overtopping or breach of the Aylesbury Arm (Grand Union Canal) j) Are designed using a sequential approach. Flood Zones 2 and 3 plus climate change (subject to detailed flood risk assessment) should be preserved. Built development should be restricted to Flood Zone 1 and avoid areas of surface water risk. Site design and making it safe must follow the SFRA Level 2 site summary sheet guidelines (2026). k) Conserve and enhance the setting of Broughton Manor Farm Barn (Grade II), the scheduled ancient monument to the south and adjacent buildings. l) Provide a landscape buffer to Broughton and sensitive heritage assets, a canal-side buffer along the northern boundary and farmland bird compensation habitat. m) Retain open land west of the ELR as a strategic buffer. n) Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) and Strategic Access Management and Monitoring (SAMMS) contributions in accordance with policies NE12 and NE13, and the latest Chilterns Beechwoods SAC Mitigation Strategy, provide biodiversity enhancement and habitat connectivity and ensure longterm management of green infrastructure. Design and Masterplan: Development will only be permitted where it is supported by a comprehensive and coordinated masterplan and phasing strategy for the entire site. This should be submitted to and approved by the Council prior to the determination of any planning application. The masterplan and phasing strategy must: a) Demonstrate how development will be brought forward in a coordinated manner to deliver an integrated and cohesive scheme. b) Show how each phase will contribute to and integrate with the design concepts of the development as a whole; and c) Ensure that development is supported by the timely provision of infrastructure, including highways, utilities and community facilities, in accordance with the Council’s most up-to-date evidence of infrastructure needs 6.262 The three parcels of land which make up this site is approximately 242.6ha and located approximately two miles east of Aylesbury town centre. 6.263 The overall site is surrounded by a mix of land uses including the Grand Union Canal Aylesbury Arm, the Bear Brook, agricultural buildings and residential properties in Broughton Hamlet and the planned Eastern Link Road. To the east, the site is bounded by College Road North and the commercial developments along this road, most notably the Arla processing dairy, and College Farm. Residential properties located near to the site are College Farm and The Red House to the east of the site off College Road North. The eastern portion of the site adjoining College Road North is included within the Arla/Woodlands Enterprise Zone designation which also extends over an existing employment area centred on the Arla dairy. 6.264 Parts of the site falls within Flood Zone 2 and Flood Zone 3. Development needs to respond to the 2026 SFRA level 2 site summary sheet and guidelines for site design and making it safe for users. A satisfactory road access will need to be achieved once the Eastern Link Road on Woodlands has been delivered. In addition, the impact on heritage assets with Grade II* Listed Buildings and a Scheduled Monument which fall within proximity to the site should be considered and mitigated against. 6.265 The site lies within the zone of influence of the Chilterns Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Development is likely to generate recreational pressure and will require appropriate mitigation. Planning permission will not be granted until suitable SANG and SAMM mitigation is secured, in accordance with Policies NE12, NE13 and NE14 and the latest mitigation strategy. It is anticipated that suitable SANG could be delivered onsite. Alternatively, provision may be secured through the purchase of credits at the Kingsbrook Meadows strategic SANG if delivery on site cannot be achieved. 6.266 The employment element of the site is a strategic employment area for Buckinghamshire as it includes the Aylesbury Woodlands Enterprise Zone, which is intended to support the growth of high-value, knowledge-based sectors and to attract investment into Buckinghamshire. The Enterprise Zone provides an important opportunity to deliver modern, high-quality employment floorspace and to support innovation, productivity and job creation in key sectors of the local economy. 6.267 Ensuring the timely delivery of employment development alongside residential growth is essential to achieving the Local Plan’s objectives of providing sustainable communities, reducing the need to travel, and supporting economic resilience. The policy therefore requires proposals to demonstrate how employment provision will be brought forward in an appropriate relationship with the wider development, including through effective phasing arrangements. 6.268 The policy also seeks to maximise the wider economic benefits arising from the development, including supporting local supply chains, enhancing skills and employment opportunities for residents, and contributing to the delivery of digital infrastructure. These measures are important in ensuring that the development contributes positively to Buckinghamshire’s longterm economic strategy. 6.269 Given the strategic importance of the site, it is necessary to safeguard the approved employment floorspace from being lost to non-employment uses. This will ensure that the site continues to deliver its intended economic function over the plan period and supports the role of the Enterprise Zone. Proposals that would reduce or delay the delivery of employment development will therefore only be supported in exceptional circumstances, where it can be clearly demonstrated that the approved employment use is no longer required or deliverable, and that the overall objectives of the Local Plan would not be undermined. 6.270 The current planning status of the site is as follows: Land at Aylesbury Woodlands outline planning application granted (16/01040/AOP). This included an illustrative masterplan. Various reserved matters have also been approved. No applications received on the remainder of the site.