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WINKLEIGH AIRFIELD CONSULTANT DEVELOPMENT BRIEF FOR THE SITE |
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Torridge District Council CONSULTANCY BRIEF 'Site Development Brief for the Winkleigh Airfield Site,' Invitation to Tender Introduction A contract is being let by Torridge District Council (TDC) in order to develop a Site Development Brief (SDB) for the redevelopment and restoration of the Winkleigh Airfield site. It is envisaged that this detailed guidance will accord with national and regional planning policy and complement/ form part of the suite of Development Plan Documents (DPD) which are in the process of being developed by TDC. The SDB should be produced in parallel with the Local Development Framework (LDF) Core Strategy and expand upon policies for the redevelopment and restoration of the Airfield identified in the LDF. The SDB will be developed with a focus on community requirements/ engagement. The consultants will be required to report on the role, function, needs and potential of the village of Winkleigh and to use this work to prepare an SDB that is deliverable and can become a consideration in the determination of planning applications. The consultants should therefore identify the most appropriate route to achieve this. The contract will be managed by TDC together with a Steering Group that includes local community representatives and the South West Regional Development Agency (South West RDA). This consultancy brief sets out the context, roles and responsibilities, tasks and outputs and timetable for the work required, followed by the tender requirements. Context 'Proposal WINK1: Winkleigh Airfield Proposals for appropriate new development that secures the comprehensive restoration and reclamation of contaminated land and sites subject to landscape degradation or dereliction on the site defined on the Proposals Map will be supported'. The supporting text within the Local Plan identifies that a Development Brief, to be agreed by the District Council, is required before the site subject to Proposal WINK1 is released for development (See Appendix 3). However, to date this has not been undertaken by TDC or any other interested party. Since Proposal WINK1 has been adopted in the Local Plan, the planning policy situation at a national, regional and local level has changed. In addition the local community have been active in progressing a number of strategies for the parish and the site itself. In summary: " The government has reviewed a number of Planning Policy Guidance
documents and published these as Planning Policy Statements (PPS) including,
PPS1, PPS3, PPS6, PPS7, PPS11, PPS 12 and PPS22. Therefore, in order to ensure that the latest planning policy and community involvement is taken into account (and as such the planning position is 'future- proofed' and deliverable), it is considered that a SDB is required for the site. This SDB should expand upon policy identified in the LDF Core Strategy, for the redevelopment and restoration of the airfield site. The SDB should be developed in parallel with the Core Strategy and have a focus on community requirements and engagement. Appropriate public consultation and discussions with key agencies and local businesses should be a key focus of the process. Roles and Responsibilities TDC will be leading on this contract. The selected consultant will also be reporting to a Steering Group established to over-see the preparation of the SDB. The role of the consultants is to prepare a SDB for the Winkleigh Airfield site that is deliverable and can be adopted by Torridge District Council for consideration in the determination of future planning applications. Key Tasks It is proposed that the project be approached in 2 phases and the specific matters that should be addressed by consultants within each phase of the contract are: Phase 1 Evidence Gathering: The consultants will be required to report on the role, function, needs
and potential of the parish of Winkleigh and its rural hinterland. This
will include a review of the adopted Local Plan, emerging LDF and community
work that has been undertaken (including the Parish Plan and Alternative
Plan for Winkleigh Airfield). Consultation with the local community
is a vital part of this process. In addition the consultant will be
required to review the Employment Land Review, Housing Needs Surveys
and other local documentation/survey reports. The report will identify
the priorities for the parish. In addition to this the report should
identify whether any of the local priorities can be addressed outside
of the SDB process, to prevent unnecessary delay in their delivery. Phase 2 Preparation of SDB for Airfield site 1. Chain of Conformity- A strategy will need to be developed to clearly identify a chain of conformity to ensure that the SDB for the site will accord with other documents comprising the LDF, especially the Core Strategy which will be being developed in parallel. In addition, this will need to demonstrate that the SDB is deliverable and can be adopted by TDC for consideration in the determination of planning applications. 2. Preparation of draft SDB- A draft SDB document for the Airfield site should be prepared by consultants. The document should consider the outcomes that emerge from the evidence gathering exercise identified in Phase 1. It is envisaged that this work will establish an acceptable SDB for the airfield site, and identify other issues that need to be addressed by the village in the future, that are not appropriately associated with the development of the airfield site. In preparing the draft SDB, the appointed consultant will need to understand the implications of the potential site contamination and the presence of defensive incendiary devices. 3. Strategic Environmental Assessment/Sustainability Appraisal - The requirements for SEA/SA need to be integrated into the process and a sustainability appraisal included as part of the brief with further consideration given to consultation responses and refinement in the production of an adoption document and accompanying updated appraisal. 4. Consultation Statement- A consultation strategy/ statement should also be proposed by the appointed consultants and undertaken in conjunction with TDC. The results from this consultation should be considered and alterations made to the SDB where appropriate. 5. Final Version for Adoption- A final version of the SDB should be submitted to TDC. This should be accompanied by advice on the most appropriate route of progressing the SDB through the planning process so that it can be used in the determination of planning applications. Timetable The following timetable will apply to this piece of work: " Deadline for submissions to Torridge District Council 12.00noon
Friday 11h January 2008; Outputs The reports and draft reports must be provided electronically, in MS Word compatible format, to the project manager. The final report must be provided as follows to the project manager: " 3 hard copy and bound copies, and The report must be written in plain English, to enable it to be accessible and understood by everyone. This tender document has been sent to those consultants responding to advertisements placed in relevant journals and on the internet. Consultants putting forward a proposal to undertake this piece of work should ensure that the following is included: " A clear interpretation of the brief with a schedule of work. TDC are keen to understand the consultants interpretation of this brief and whether an alternative approach would be more appropriate. If an alternative approach is suggested, a schedule of work, estimate of the likely fee and evidence of resources will be required. The consultants submission, together with this study brief, will form part of the contract between TDC and the consultant. To avoid any potential conflict of interest, the appointed consultant will not have had any previous involvement in the recent planning history of the Winkleigh airfield site. Ownership Payment will be by invoice in arrears, which will be inclusive of all expenses, consultation and other costs. Invoices should be made payable to Torridge District Council. A schedule of dates for invoice submissions will be agreed with the appointed consultant at the inception meeting. The sensitive nature of this contract should be respected and the detail of this brief should remain confidential until the findings from the appointed consultant are agreed and published. If either the appointed consultancy or the contract holder wish to terminate this contract, they may do so at any point prior to the fourth week of the contract, providing one week' notice is given. No payment may be due or made. The ownership of the report (including the intellectual property rights) and accompanying analysis will be vested in TDC and the South West Regional Development Agency. This brief does not constitute a contract of employment. Contract Management TDC will manage this contract and the Project Manager will be Maria Bailey. Contact details are as follows: Address: Torridge District Council, Riverbank House, Bideford, Devon EX39 2QG Telephone: 01237 428711 E-mail: maria.bailey@torridge.gov.uk
Reference Documents Appendix 1- Community Profile
Winkleigh parish covers some 9100 acres with the main centre of population being Winkleigh village. The village itself, where five roads converge, sits on a hill-top astride the 160-170m contour line, on an east-west ridgeline between the rivers Taw and Torridge. The parish divides into three distinct areas. Firstly, small centres of settlement (as well as Winkleigh village), then the general area of the old airfield and finally the predominately rural portion consisting of tiny hamlets and individual farms and houses. The overall impression is one of pastoral farmland, with some arable fields, deciduous woodlands and conifer plantations. The high culm measures of the parish also influence our land heritage. Its geology is historically one of well watered but poorly drained soil which, in its turn, influences vegetation and usage. Winkleigh is mentioned in the 'Doomsday Book', was certainly Saxon before that and reasonable evidence exists to suggest Bronze Age settlement. In World War Two the need for extra airfields embraced Winkleigh and RAF Winkleigh came into being in 1943. The airfield provided a home for fighter operations and training of RAF personnel. In 1948 its use was discontinued and it was returned to 'green field' use. The runways still function in the main as part of the present road system within the parish. There is some housing within its old boundaries with limited light industrial, retail and agriculture sector use apparent throughout its general area. The population of Winkleigh (2001 Registrar General Population Estimates) number just over 1400 people. This is a 40% increase since the 1991 census. The attraction of new housing developments is the probable cause for this surge. Demographically only 19% of the population is under 20 years of age, with 47% being between 20 and 60 years, while 34% are aged 60 or more. Winkleigh is a Priority Area for Regeneration (Devon Rural Strategy). It is designated in the adopted Local Plan as a Strategic Local Centre for the surrounding parishes. This area of Devon is considered 'deprived' and in the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004, is ranked twenty-seventh out of thirty-seven in Torridge District and 14609 out of 32482 nationally. In the Living Environment domain we rank 8501 out of 32482. The main employment continues to be within the agriculture sector and overall unemployment is low. However many are 'underemployed' and the general levels of remuneration are below national averages. The infrastructure of the village is under strain and keeping pace
with this rapid population growth will be an increasing concern. The
general consensus is that the village of Winkleigh is now large enough;
it is still a 'working' village providing a very acceptable level of
enjoyable activities and the parish as a whole is an extremely pleasant
and friendly place in which to live with low levels of criminal or anti-social
behaviour. The airfield is an issue and is in need of some 'care and
attention.' This requirement must be addressed in a sympathetic way,
so that the parish can benefit without any future change destroying
either our heritage or environment in the process. |