Description
The two sites allocated for employment use are located in Hurricane Way. Site A, the western site, is 0.26 hectares in size and site B, the eastern site, is 2.03 hectares. Both sites have been cleared and a recent permission has been granted for the smaller site for surface storage uses and placement of containers.
These sites are on the south side of Hurricane Way, adjoining the Airport Industrial Estate to the north. To the south of the sites there are recently developed residential areas which are accessed from Fifers Lane. Site A borders the woodland to its west. There are protected trees within both sites.
Explanatory text
Buildings on these two sites, used by the Ministry of Defence and more recently for student accommodation by the University of East Anglia, were demolished in 2008.
The Airport Industrial Estate is located to the north and adjoining parts of the earlier defence site now form part of the industrial estate. The remainder of the former student accommodation has been developed for housing. Development will help provide more opportunities for small and start-up businesses (units below 1,500 square metres).
The development will have to address specific on site constraints relating to its former uses and location. A contamination assessment will be necessary.
Since site B is over 1ha a flood risk assessment is required and appropriate mitigation measures shall be provided as part of the development. As both sites lie within a Critical Drainage Catchment as identified on the Policies map, a surface water management assessment should be included with any application. Development proposals involving new buildings, extensions and additional areas of hard surfacing should ensure that adequate and appropriate consideration has been given to mitigating surface water flooding in accordance with policy DM5.
Design of the development at site A must take account of its location neighbouring woodland. The design of sites A and B must also take account of trees on site.
Both the design and use of the sites must avoid any potential noise or amenity conflicts with housing to the south and south-west of the sites. Therefore light industrial and small business uses are promoted and landscaped buffers must be provided to existing residential development. Dependent on production of a masterplan, residential development may be suitable on the southern part of Site B. Whilst the scale of development will be determined by the masterplan, for the purposes of calculating the SAP’s contribution to the JCS housing requirement an assumption has been made that the site will deliver in the region of 30 dwellings.
Vehicular access to the development sites for employment uses will be from Hurricane Way. A bus route and an improved pedestrian and cycle route will be provided through site B by the developer and will link Hurricane Way to the northern end of Heyford Road, most likely on the sites eastern boundary. The cycle route will be part of the yellow route of the strategic cycle network. The development should be designed to provide surveillance of this route to ensure it will be safe.
Deliverability
The site is in city council ownership. It is suitable and available for development within the plan period.
POLICY R29: Two sites at Hurricane Way, Airport Industrial Estate – light industrial and housing development
Two sites at Hurricane Way (as identified on the proposals map as site A and site B) are allocated for light industrial development and/or for small business uses. Housing development will be acceptable in the southern part of Site B in accordance with an agreed masterplan. These uses must not be significantly detrimental to the amenity of adjoining neighbouring residential occupiers. A noise assessment will be required.
Following implementation of an approved development, any employment element on this site will be considered as part of the Airport Industrial Estate and protected under Policy DM 16.
The proposed development will:
- deliver a north-south pedestrian and cycle link via site B;
- deliver a bus link from Hurricane Way to Heyford Road via site B;
- ensure protection of trees on site.
A flood risk assessment including a surface water management assessment should be submitted with any application proposing development in accordance with this allocation. The assessment should show how the proposed development:
a) would not increase the vulnerability of the site, or the wider catchment, to flooding from surface water run-off from existing or predicted water flows; and
b) would, wherever practicable, have a positive impact on the risk of surface water flooding in the wider area.
