HRA Land Review Phase 4 – Lundy Close

Lundy Close - Update

Following the planning approval granted for the development of the northern area of Lundy Close toward the end of last year, officers have been working toward discharging several planning conditions which the Local Planning Authority as part of the approved planning application.

Green Space Enhancement – Condition 8

Condition 8 requires a written strategy for green space enhancements, including measures to enhance biodiversity, within the estate surrounding the site, to the value of £5000. Upon liaising with the Parks Department, South Essex Homes and ward members, a strategy has been submitted to employ the assistance of the Parks and Open Spaces Department to embark on a planting programme in the autumn to early winter of 2023. to plant over ten thousand bulbs of various varieties to add a vibrant splash of colour and bring to life a sense of pride and help with the biodiversity enhancing cross pollination from Bees and insects alike. The bulbs will be planted around the trees within the green space under the canopy coverage. Once planting has been completed, come Spring 2024, as these bulbs are Spring flowering, the Parks Team will be aware and will make efforts not to mow around the emerging bulbs.

Archaeology Surveys – Condition 9

As the area in and around Cherry Orchard Way has been of archaeological interest in the past, Southend Museum requested a condition be added to the planning approval that an archaeological survey of the proposed development site be carried out and report back to planners and the museum. The strategic housing team have engaged Oxford Archaeology East to carry out this work and submit any artifacts or objects which may be of interest. Conversations with the archaeological team indicate it will be very unlikely anything significate would be found due to the amount of work which has taken place in the locality of the development, i.e., the industrial site that surround Lundy Close.

The Archaeological works is due to start in the coming weeks and will consist of excavating a 5% sample of the development area of c. 0.24ha. the archaeological team will do this by excavating 60 linear metres of trenching at a width of 2m. Trenches will be laid out to evenly sample the development area, on a standard grid array,

The trenches will be dug by a tracked 360° excavator machine. The trenches will be excavated to a standard average depth of 0.50m, with no trenches exceeding a safe working depth of 1.00m. Archaeological features will then be investigated by hand. All areas of excavation will be fenced as required. Any archaeological features found will then be recorded and will be sent for approval from the County Archaeologist, the trenches will be backfilled with excavated material in reverse order of excavation.

The Strategic Housing Team would like to provide the following update regarding the development in Lundy Close.

The Council’s design team amended the proposal for Lundy Close, considering feedback from the initial 2019 resident consultation, the 2021 online surveys and comments received as part of the pre-application service carried out with the Local Planning Authority. The planning application went to the Development Control Committee (DCC) on the 12th October 2022, where it received a unanimous vote of approval. To view the Planning Approval, please see website and planning information below:

https://publicaccess.southend.gov.uk/online-applications/

Planning Reference: 22/01214/BC3 Lundy Close

The revised proposal that was presented to DCC, saw the unit numbers reduced from eleven to nine (comprising of five houses and four flats). All the units are no more than two storeys tall. The proposal will also see significant tree planting, comfortably exceeding the ‘2 for 1’ tree reprovision planning policy. The planting scheme (along the eastern boundary) will form part of a ’green corridor’ and be complimentary to wildlife. The development will look to exceed planning requirements by delivering homes that meet the incoming Future Homes Standard. The homes will therefore be extremely well insulated and will use low carbon electric heating in the form of Air Source Heat Pumps and Solar Photovoltaic Panels. This means that these homes will have net zero carbon emissions and have the potential to be fully zero carbon in the near future (as the national grid continues to decarbonise). The Council will also use the design of the buildings to further enhance biodiversity. The development will include Swift boxes on the sides of suitable homes and will provide nesting sites to support this species of bird which is in decline. A bike shed with an innovative green roof, will be included to support pollinators and provide additional 'urban greening' to the site.

The next stage towards developing the site will be to run a procurement tender process to engage a main contractor. This process is scheduled to begin by the end of the year, once a main contractor has been chosen. The expected start on site will be mid-2023. However, prior to the main contract being appointed - the Council will be carrying out an Archaeological dig in and around the proposed development site. The date for this work to commence, is yet to be confirmed.

The Local Planning Authority have advised that the Lundy Close planning application will be going to Development Control Committee (DCC) on the 12^th October. The agenda can be found here: https://democracy.southend.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CId=135&Year=0

In the event planning permission is secured, the Council will look to start the procurement process for a main contractor and anticipate starting on site in early 2023.

The Council’s design team have amended the proposal for Lundy Close, taking into account feedback from the initial resident consultation in 2019, the online surveys in 2021, and comments received as part of the pre-application service carried out with the Local Planning Authority.

The revised proposal has seen the unit numbers reduced from eleven to nine, comprising of five houses and four flats. All the units are no more than two storeys tall. The proposal will also see significant tree planting, comfortably exceeding the ‘2 for 1’ tree re provision planning policy. The planting scheme (along the eastern boundary) will form part of a ’green corridor’ and be complimentary to wildlife.

The development will look to exceed planning requirements by delivering homes that meet the incoming 2025 Future Homes Standard. This means that they will meet this proposed new standard several years before it will be mandated for all new developments by Central Government. The homes will therefore be extremely well insulated and include triple glazing, they will also be completely off the gas gride and will use low carbon electric heating in the form of heat pumps. They will also go one step further than the current Future Homes Standard proposals by including Solar Photovoltaic Panels, which means that these homes will have net zero carbon emissions and have the potential to be fully zero carbon in the near future as the national grid continues to decarbonise.

The Council will also use the design of the buildings to further enhance biodiversity. The development will include Swift boxes on the sides of suitable homes which will provide nesting sites to support this species of bird which is in decline. A bike shed with an innovative green roof will be included to support pollinators and provide additional urban greening to the site.

Residents throughout the consultation period expressed a desire to have a dog waste bin installed within the estate. A dual-purpose bin has now been installed within the estate, which enables both general waste and bagged dog waste to be disposed of.

The revised design will be submitted to the Local Planning Authority in the coming weeks and a planning reference posted on this page, which will enable to access the planning documents via the planning portal.

The residents online survey closed after having been live for four weeks from 12th July 2021 and the responses have been collated. The survey picked up on the themes identified in the 2019 residents’ consultation to explore further. The key areas addressed were as follows:

· Importance of public space

· Environmental impact

· Nature and wildlife

· Traffic and parking

All residents in Lundy Close were advised of the survey in writing and via Your Say Southend and 7% of residents took part.

Survey responses

The following questions received unanimous support with 100% of respondents in favour of the following:

· Tree planting – to create screening and encourage more birds and wildlife

· Enhance green space by providing bee friendly planting

· Renewable design elements (e.g. solar panels, heat pumps)

· Design that lessens the impact on the environment (e.g. rainwater harvesting)

Thank you to those who took part in the consultation and please be assured that your feedback will be fed into the design process. We hope to start discussions with the Local Planning Authority (LPA) regarding the proposal in the coming months. We will contact residents again once initial discussions have taken place with the LPA and we plan to publish further online surveys to find out your views on prospective designs.

Southend-on-Sea Borough Council would like to provide further update on the Lundy Close project.

The next stage of consultation will open on Monday 12 July on the Your Say Southend webpage asking for your feedback about certain aspects of the proposed scheme. The consultation can be found on the survey tab toward the bottom of the page.

We are using a polling system to find out the majority of likes and preferences for certain aspects of the scheme, so we can use the information within the design plans. Following a procurement process, AK Design, an experienced Essex based architectural company, has been selected to work with Southend-on-Sea Borough Council to develop plans for the site in Lundy Close.

Your feedback on the online polls will help influence the designs as they are drawn up. Following the consultation and once drawn up, these plans will be submitted for planning approval, and you will be able to view the plans on the Council’s Planning Portal. This will also be your opportunity to submit any letters of support or objections to the project.

There will be several weeks between when the plans have been submitted and the development control committee, where a selection of councillors from across the Borough and the different political parties, will discuss the plans and attached report and recommendations from planning officers. The committee will then decide whether or not the scheme is granted planning permission.

The consultation on Your Say Southend opens on Monday 12 July and will remain active for four weeks. We look forward to seeing your views.

Southend-on-Sea Borough Council would like to provide an update on the Lundy Close project.

The Strategic Housing project team can now confirm, following ratification by full Council on the 18^th March 2021, the project can proceed to the design stage.

The Architect procurement process is now complete, and the contract has been awarded to AK Design, an Essex based Architectural company with experience in delivering affordable housing projects within the borough.

Plans will now be produced and submitted for planning approval in due course. A further update will be provided, to advise when the plans can be viewed and a link to the application via the Local Planning Authorities (LPA) planning portal.

We will be setting up a consultation on our Your Say Southend site, using a ‘polling’ system, to help identify resident ideas as to what you would like to see included in the scheme. Details to follow shortly.

The Council has recently published an advert in the local paper advertising the intention to develop the North site in Lundy Close for housing in accordance with the Local Government Act 1972 section 122 (2A) and thus appropriate the identified land for housing. This notice was published following The Council decision to progress with the development of the North Site only in Lundy Close.

Your previous feedback on the proposed housing development informed the Options Appraisal for the site as per the Report that was agreed by Council in October. As previously stated, there will be further opportunities for you as local residents to get engaged in the scheme and provide your views on the development.

Please note that you as residents will have the opportunity to comment on, and object to, any planning submission as part of the planning process. This process will be managed by the Local Planning Authority (LPA) which will carry out this process independently from the Strategic Housing Team.