New Local Plan: Spatial Options Document 2021

Planning for Complete Communities

We recognise that Rochford's urban-rural mix is a key part of its character. Unlike more urbanised areas, Rochford is home to a number of distinct neighbourhoods each of which has its own strengths, challenges, character and sense of community.

Above else, we believe our new Local Plan should support the achievement of a wider vision for the District by understanding and achieving individual visions for our individual communities. We recognise that each community has its own natural, built and cultural heritage that should be understood both individually and as part of the wider District and region.

We hope to complement this community vision approach with adopting the core principles of creating complete communities. By complete communities, we mean create places that possess the necessary services for citizens to lead healthy and happy daily lives which are located close-by so that most of the community can access them on foot, cycle or by public transport. The more services a place has, and the easier to access those services are, the more complete that place can be considered to be. We have considered how complete our existing communities are using heatmapping, which is shown at Figure 43.

Whilst it may be possible to make communities more complete through supportive planning policies, it may be in some locations that new development can be tied to new facilities more directly and intelligently than before to make sure the benefits of development genuinely reach those already resident in a community. However, we recognise that some communities, particularly small villages, will never become 'complete'. Whilst residents of these communities are likely to be benefit from having more facilities close at hand, there is not a sufficient population in these places to make service provision viable even with a small amount of new development. It is therefore important to consider our communities as a network and explore how improving the completeness of one community might help serve residents elsewhere.

The complete communities model we are looking at prioritises access to facilities by sustainable means. This means primarily through walking, but also through cycling and using public transport. We recognise that private vehicles are an important part of daily life and that the provision of new and improved roads will be an important part of the plan. Nevertheless, in thinking about how to make our communities more 'complete', we believe that relating the location of services with walkability and public transport nodes can help us achieve wider benefits for communities in terms of their health and wellbeing, reducing pollution within towns and nurturing more active communities.

Rayleigh

Rayleigh is proposed to be our only Tier 1 settlement reflecting its status as the District's main town, being home to the largest population and providing the greatest number and variety of services. Rayleigh is the principal centre of services for over half the District's residents and businesses, including large communities beyond its own boundaries in Rawreth and Hullbridge parishes. It is the District's largest retail centre and has the largest supply of business premises. Rayleigh has a demographic split that sits roughly at the District average, but has a particularly large commuting population, benefitting from its status as a hub for local rail and bus services, and its easy access to the A127, A1245, A129 and A130.

As can be seen from the completeness mapping, Rayleigh benefits from a good standard of walking access to most day-to-day services. The areas of Rayleigh with the best walking access to services are around its town centre, with other strong areas to the west along London Road. Overall, even those parts of Rayleigh outside of the walking catchment of services benefit from good levels of access overall, particularly along the spines of Rawreth Lane, Hockley Road and Eastwood Road. Despite the good range of services provided, the capacity of infrastructure in Rayleigh is known to be a challenge, and opportunities to improve completeness through the plan are likely to be best targeted at improving the capacity and coverage of services, particularly within its suburbs.

Many of these sites will not be appropriate for development. An initial appraisal of all of these sites is available in the Site Appraisal Paper.

Struggling to view details? You may find it easier to use our interactive consultation map.

Rochford and Ashingdon

Rochford and Ashingdon together form a functionally-connected settlement home to around 18,000 residents. Between Rochford town centre and a number of neighbourhood centres located throughout the wider settlement, the settlement provides for a reasonably wide range of services and business spaces, including a number of specialist employment areas supporting nearby London Southend Airport. Beyond its immediate boundaries, Rochford and Ashingdon forms a particularly important service base for residents in the villages of Great Stambridge, Canewdon and Paglesham, including for both education and healthcare. Rochford and Ashingdon has a slightly younger population than the District average and has localised areas of deprivation where health outcomes fall below the District average.

As can be seen from the completeness mapping, residents of Rochford and Ashingdon benefit from good walking access to most services, with the most complete parts of the settlement falling around and to the north of Rochford town centre. Walking access to services remains relatively good along the length of Ashingdon Road but dissipates into the residential area. The only parts of Rochford with particularly poor access to services are around Purdeys industrial estate and the residential neighbourhoods of Ashingdon village. Opportunities to improve completeness include in the provision of leisure services, addressing capacity issues and improving the reliability and frequency of public transport connections to nearby villages.

Hockley and Hawkwell

Hockley and Hawkwell are two distinct places that form a functionally connected settlement in the heart of the District. Home to around 16,000 people, the settlement provides for a reasonable range of services that serve both its own residents and a small number of villages beyond its boundary. These services include a small but busy town centre, a range of community facilities and a significant hectarage of natural space, including the largest remaining area of wildwood in the country, Hockley Woods. Hockley and Hawkwell are amongst the least deprived neighbourhoods in the entire District with housing availability and affordability a key issue in this part of the District. They are home to a slightly older population than the local average, but their overall demographic profile is similar to the District as a whole.

As can be seen from the completeness mapping, Hockley and Hawkwell residents benefit from generally good walking access to most day-to-day services, with the best levels of access around the town centre and along Southend Road. The completeness of Hockley and Hawkwell does notably drop off along its periphery, however these areas are relatively less densely populated. Opportunities to improve completeness include improving the range of services provided within the settlement, addressing capacity issues and improving public transport connectivity to rural villages in its catchment.

Many of these sites will not be appropriate for development. An initial appraisal of all of these sites is available in the Site Appraisal Paper.  Struggling to view details? You may find it easier to use our Interactive Consultation Map.

The Wakerings and Barling

Canewdon

Canewdon is a relatively isolated village located in the rural north-east of the District. It is a relatively compact and self-sustaining village with reasonably good service provision for a population of its size, including a village shop and primary school clustered around its high street. These services primary serve residents of the village, but also provide for rural residents in surrounding hamlets. Whilst its remoteness is one of its characterising strengths, it does also pose challenges in terms of generally poor connectivity both in terms of transport and digital services. Its demographic split largely reflects the District averages.

The walking completeness of Canewdon is reasonably good with the few services within the village being within reasonable walking distance of most of the village's residents. However, the village is relatively reliant on nearby towns, including Rochford, for a good number of day-to-day services, including healthcare, secondary education and employment. Opportunities to improve completeness include improving the range of services available locally, restoring lost services, particularly healthcare services, and improving sustainable connectivity to nearby towns, including Rochford, such as through a more regular bus service.
 

Many of these sites will not be appropriate for development. An initial appraisal of all of these sites is available in the Site Appraisal Paper.  Struggling to view details? You may find it easier to use our Interactive Consultation Map.

Great Stambridge

Great Stambridge is a relatively small village located to the east of Rochford town. It is home to around 400 residents, although its identifying population is significantly more when including rural populations and residents living on the eastern edge of Rochford town. The village possesses a good number of facilities for a settlement of its size, including a primary school, church and village hall, however the layout of the village means that these facilities are outside of the walking catchment of most of the village's residents. Due to its location, less than a mile from the eastern edge of Rochford town, the residents of the village benefit from a combination of relative tranquillity created by their detachment from the main urban area and easy access to all the services located in the town, including its job opportunities, retail outlets and railway station.

As can be seen from the completeness mapping, the centre of population in Great Stambridge is relatively detached from the services along Stambridge Road and walking to these services is likely to be a relatively unattractive proposition to many residents. Opportunities to improve the completeness of Great Stambridge are less likely to be focussed on the provision of new services but on the enhancement of existing services, both in the village and in Rochford town, and improving their accessibility through sustainable means.

Rawreth

Rawreth is a village located to the west of the District, home to approximately 600 residents. It is located approximately halfway between the larger towns of Rayleigh and Wickford (located in Basildon Borough). Rawreth has a relatively good supply of services for a village of its population, including open space, a nursery and village hall, whilst it has reasonably good access to services in those towns. The village is well-located for accessing the strategic road network, with the main village envelope being located between the routes of the A130 and A1245, with nearby access to the A129 and A127. However, sustainable transport provision is relatively more limited, with residents of the village much more reliant on nearby towns for train and bus services.

Rawreth has a reasonable degree of completeness for its population however there may be opportunities to improve connectivity to nearby towns through sustainable methods, such as more regular bus services and new cycling and walking routes. A significant amount of land is being promoted near Rawreth, both adjacent to and beyond the existing village. An area to the south of the village is also identified as being a strategic growth option earlier in this paper. Whilst it is unlikely that this growth area, if taken forward, would adjoin Rawreth village itself, it may be able to help to improve the completeness of the village by providing new services nearby, including retail services, job opportunities and new public transport connections.

Paglesham

Paglesham is a cluster of hamlets located in the eastern extent of the District. Home to a combined 250 residents, Paglesham Churchend and Eastend are historic settlements, both covered by a conservation area. They are relatively remote from any of our key service towns and villages and do not benefit from any services but save for a public house and a small area of open space. Paglesham also benefits from its close access to picturesque areas of the coast.

As can seen from the completeness mapping, Paglesham has relatively poor walking access to most day-to-day services, both due to the absence of those facilities and the distribution of homes being relatively dispersed over a wide area. Due to its low population, it is relatively unlikely that its completeness could be improved without a significant amount of new development, which itself is unlikely to be appropriate given its relatively remote location and large areas at risk of flooding. Nevertheless, there may be opportunities through the plan to improve the completeness of Paglesham through rural service models and improved sustainable access to nearby villages and towns, such as a more frequent bus service.

Stonebridge

Stonebridge and Sutton are some of a number of sparsely populated hamlets located within a large and relatively open tranche of land to the east of Rochford town and north of the Southend urban area. There are very few services provided in this area and a majority of the land in this area is given over to agriculture. The largest area of continuous settlement in the area is Stonebridge, which extends over the administrative boundary into Southend Borough.

Due to the absence of any services, Stonebridge and Sutton has a very low level of completeness, with the only parts of the area with any walking access to services being those parts of Stonebridge nearest to the urban area of Southend. There is a significant amount of land being promoted in the area of Stonebridge and Sutton, both adjacent to existing areas of settlement and into the open countryside. This land is identified as a strategic growth option earlier in this report. Whilst it is recognised that the vast majority of the land being promoted in this area is not adjacent to existing communities, the development of areas of this land would provide opportunities to improve the completeness of existing communities in Stonebridge and Sutton by creating new services, including education, healthcare, retail and jobs, and providing an opportunity to improve sustainable connectivity.

Rural Communities

As recognised elsewhere in this document, Rochford has a unique mix of urban and rural environments which is reflected in the fact that over 5,000 of our residents live outside of the settlements identified earlier in this section.

These residents mostly live in rural housing beyond the boundary of recognised settlements. This includes small pockets of concentrated housing, including in plotland areas between our main towns, and more isolated housing spread out along inter-urban roads. More concentrated areas of population exist at Battlesbridge, South Fambridge, and Foulness Churchend. As these settlements have very modest populations, a general absence of services and do not have land being promoted nearby, it is generally considered unlikely that opportunities for significant change exist in these settlements. The more populated areas of Battlesbridge, in particular, fall within the administrative area of Chelmsford City.

As a result, we have chosen not to prepare individual vision statements for these settlements at this time. Nevertheless, we think it is important to consider a vision for all of our rural communities which can help to guide decisions through the plan that can benefit those not living within a recognised Tier 1-4 settlement.

Our vision statement for Rural Communities is set out below: