14.1.1 The timely provision of suitable and appropriate infrastructure is crucial to the well-being of the Borough’s resident population, those who visit, provide services and invest and work in the Borough. Infrastructure has not always historically kept pace with development and there are some parts of the Borough where infrastructure demands are currently near to, or at, full capacity. Fundamental to delivering the spatial strategy is ensuring that the necessary social, physical and green infrastructure is put in place to support the level of growth proposed and to serve the changes in the Borough’s demographic make-up that are expected to take place over the Plan period.
14.1.2 The definition of infrastructure is wide and includes a range of services and facilities provided by both public and private bodies. For the purpose of the Borough Local Plan (BLP), the definition of infrastructure is that set out below:
Transport infrastructure |
Local and major transport, junctions, sustainable transport, parking |
Green/Blue infrastructure |
Public open space, play space, Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG), Rights of Way (ROW) |
Social infrastructure |
Education, health, sports and leisure facilities, emergency services, libraries and community centres |
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Utilities and hard infrastructure |
Electricity, gas, water, sewerage, waste, telecommunications and broadband, flood defences |
Table 18 : Definition of Infrastructure
14.2.1 To provide new and improved infrastructure to support planned growth, it will be necessary for the Council to coordinate funding and delivery from individual developments. Development proposals should mitigate their own impact on the Borough’s infrastructure. Infrastructure may be secured via a number of mechanisms as appropriate to the circumstances.
14.2.2 These may include Planning Obligations, Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), or conditions attached to the grant of planning permission. The Borough will update the Planning Obligations and Developer Contributions Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) to provide further illustration of how this policy should be implemented.
14.2.3 The Borough will work in partnership with infrastructure service providers and developers to ensure that the infrastructure needed to support development is delivered in a timely manner to meet the needs of the community arising from the development. In some cases it may be necessary for the infrastructure to be provided in advance of the development commencing.
14.2.4 Development may be phased to ensure the timely delivery of infrastructure that has been identified as necessary to serve the development. Detailed decisions about this will be determined on the merits of individual schemes through the development management process.
14.2.5 Spatial planning goes beyond traditional land use planning. It aims to create sustainable communities by ensuring that development policies are integrated with other policies and programmes that influence the nature and function of places. The provision of infrastructure is therefore central to supporting the spatial vision and spatial strategy set out in this document.
14.2.6 Spatial planning is not limited to the activities of the Council. Fundamental to the delivery of the spatial strategy is the Council’s ability to work with partners to deliver the spatial vision and in particular, to secure infrastructure provision.
14.2.7 The Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) that supports the BLP defines critical, essential and desirable social and community; health; community and public services; highways and transportation; utilities; and open space and environmental improvements infrastructure that is required. It provides schedules and a strategic view of the infrastructure needed to support the implementation of the BLP. The IDP sets out the capacity of existing infrastructure, the impact of development on that infrastructure, and the likely funding sources available to meet future needs. The IDP will be regularly updated to take account of new information to inform the delivery of infrastructure projects.
14.2.8 The Council has already implemented CIL from 1 September 2016, and the IDP is capable of forming the evidence base for a review of the CIL which will ensure that all new development contributes to the provision of new infrastructure.
14.2.9 The Council’s strategy is to optimise use of existing infrastructure, to reduce demand (for example, by managing travel demand) and to seek new infrastructure where required. The loss of existing facilities will therefore be resisted and land will be safeguarded for the provision of future infrastructure requirements where necessary. The Council will ensure a co-ordinated approach to infrastructure management and investment through partnership working with key infrastructure service providers.
Policy IF 1 Infrastructure and Developer Contributions
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14.4.1 One of the key principles of sustainable development is to reduce the need to travel and to encourage sustainable modes of transport in a manner that provides access to safe, convenient and sustainable means of transport. The interface between the location of new development and the provision of sustainable modes of transport is therefore key to achieving this.
14.4.2 Accordingly, the BLP seeks to locate new development close to offices, shops and local services and facilities and provide access to safe, convenient and sustainable modes of transport. This ties in with national guidance on transport which is contained within the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). One of the core planning principles is to manage actively patterns of growth to make the fullest possible use of public transport, walking and cycling, and focus significant development in locations which are most sustainable.
14.4.3 Transport networks in the Borough are under pressure, giving rise to a number of issues affecting local residents and businesses, including:
14.4.4 The Borough enjoys enviable levels of connectivity to London and to key regional and national destinations via the strategic road and rail networks. The M4 runs east-west through the middle of the Borough, serving Windsor (via Junction 6) and Maidenhead (via Junctions 8/9), while the M3, M25 and M40 are all within easy reach.
14.4.5 The Borough also benefits from having ten rail stations, served by a combination of main line and branch lines services. Maidenhead is on the Great Western Main Line, which connects London Paddington with South West England and Wales, incorporating branch lines to Marlow and to Windsor and Eton Central. Windsor and Eton Riverside is the western terminus for services from London Waterloo, while Ascot lies on the junction of the Waterloo to Reading and the Ascot to Guildford lines. The Borough is also in close proximity to Heathrow Airport, the UK's primary international hub airport.
14.4.6 Excellent connectivity coupled with the Borough's pleasant natural and historic setting makes the Thames Valley an attractive place to live, work and visit, and has helped to fuel historically high economic, population and visitor growth across the sub-region. It has also helped to create a highly mobile population.
14.4.7 Transport issues by their nature do not respect local authority boundaries. The Thames Valley is a relatively densely populated area with numerous towns and villages, leading to high numbers of inter-urban trips for a wide range of journey purposes. The strategic road and rail corridors running through the Borough carry large numbers of through movements as well as catering for more local trips.
14.4.8 The Borough is working with neighbouring local authorities, through the Berkshire Strategic Transport Forum and Thames Valley Berkshire Local Transport Body, to study and address sub-regional issues. The Borough recognises the need to improve rail access to Heathrow Airport from the west and south to encourage more sustainable travel patterns to and from this hub airport and relieve pressure on local and strategic road networks. The Borough endorses the proposed Western Rail Access to Heathrow rail link, which will reduce journey time from Windsor to the Airport by 30 minutes.
14.4.9 The Elizabeth Line (Crossrail) is a new east-west railway providing direct links to and through Central London, which will serve to reduce journey times from Maidenhead. With the planned electrification to the Great Western Main Line and the arrival of the Elizabeth Line, Maidenhead station will see significant investment in the future.
14.4.10 The Elizabeth Line is due to be delivered by 2022. The Borough will work in partnership with service providers, developers, public transport operators and neighbouring local transport authorities to support the delivery of sustainable transport improvements in the Borough and to improve access for residents, businesses and visitors to key services and facilities.
14.4.11 Transport Assessments set out the transport issues related to development proposals and identify measures to reduce impacts and improve accessibility. Transport Assessments will be expected for development proposals with significant transport implications to fully assess the impacts of development and identify appropriate mitigation measures.
14.4.12 Developer contributions will be secured to implement transport mitigation schemes. Where transport impacts are anticipated to be small, development proposals may be required to submit a Transport Statement, in line with Department for Transport Guidance on Transport Assessments.
14.4.13 New developments that lead to an increase in the number of people travelling to a site can put pressure on the road network, particularly as car ownership in the Borough is higher than the national average. A Travel Plan can be utilised to manage the travel demands of occupiers and visitors, employing measures to control the number of private vehicle trips to a site and influence a shift to sustainable transport choices for site users. The Council will require a Travel Plan from development proposals that generate significant traffic and a Travel Statement from smaller scale developments, in accordance with good practice guidance from the Department for Transport.
14.4.14 The Council will support proposals that deliver improvements and increased accessibility to cycle, pedestrian and public transport networks and interchange facilities. In particular, proposals to improve easy access between Maidenhead, Windsor Central, Windsor and Eton Riverside and Ascot Rail Stations and the town centres will be encouraged. Consideration will be given to the provision of development proposals with zero parking in Town Centres, providing it does not create new or exacerbate existing on-street car parking problems.
14.4.15 Expected parking standards will be set for residential development but in applying these standards, the Council will seek to ensure that this will not undermine the overall sustainability objectives of the BLP, including the effects on highway safety. The Council will ensure that changes made to transport infrastructure or increase in road vehicle usage will not have an adverse effect on the integrity of a Special Protection Area (SPA), Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) or Ramsar site.
14.5.1 M4 corridor capacity improvements have been identified by the Thames Valley Berkshire Local Economic Partnership and the Thames Valley Berkshire Local Transport Body as a priority for sub-regional transport investment. Planned economic and housing growth across the Thames Valley will place an additional burden on local infrastructure and on transport networks in particular.
14.5.2 This will bring new challenges in the planning, management and maintenance of local transport networks. The Borough will respond to these challenges, providing a framework within which transport improvements will take place to minimise the negative economic, social and environmental impacts of travel.
14.6.1 The Council’s transport policy is currently set out in the Local Transport Plan – a long term strategy covering all forms of transport in the Borough. It has five overarching aims, which reflect both local priorities and the Government’s over-arching principles which are reflected in Policy IF2 Sustainable Transport below:
14.6.2 Policy IF2 Sustainable Transport seeks to optimise accessibility, particularly to and within the Borough’s centres by ensuring that all transport infrastructure is well designed, safe and accessible; and promoting better integration of public transport facilities with a particular focus on improving public transport connections. The Council will assess development proposals in accordance with the Council’s Highway Design Guide and is seeking to reduce pedestrian and vehicular conflicts by establishing a clear and legible hierarchy of movement and access across the centres; prioritising pedestrian and cyclist accessibility; eliminating unnecessary vehicular movements through multi-trips; strengthening existing links to and within the Borough’s centres with the rural hinterland and creating new links where necessary.
14.6.3 A Parking SPD will be produced by the Council, which will include parking standards and parking design requirements. This should be read in conjunction with any locally specific parking standards included in Neighbourhood Plans. Prior to adoption of the Parking SPD:
Policy IF 2 Sustainable Transport
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14.8.1 The National Planning Policy Framework enables Local Plans and neighbourhood plans to designate Local Green Space. In accordance with national planning policy and practice guidance, Local Green Space should meet the criteria listed below:
14.8.2 In addition, a Local Green Space must be demonstrably special to a local community and hold a particular local significance. Local Green Spaces should therefore also meet at least one of the following criteria and be of a particular local significance because of its:
14.8.3 Sites already subject to statutory designation, such as Historic Parks & Gardens or Scheduled Ancient Monuments, have high levels of protection and would not benefit from an additional local designation.
14.8.4 On the basis of the above methodology the Council has identified one area of Local Green Space worthy of designation: at Poundfield, Cookham.
14.8.5 The Cookham Village Design Statement (VDS) identifies green space as being a key characteristic of all three settlements that the VDS covers. The fields to the north and west of The Pound in Cookham are known as ‘Poundfield’.
14.8.6 The VDS sets out that Poundfield’s importance derives from a unique combination of ecological, rural, and heritage factors; it is also a tranquil space in the heart of the village. Poundfield’s undeveloped frontage faces Maidenhead Road, and the glimpse of its more distant slope rising to the north are signals of the rural character of Cookham.
14.8.7 Poundfield forms a green wedge at the heart of Cookham, dividing the picturesque narrow roadway of The Pound (the edge of Cookham village) from Cookham’s more commercial areas (the Station Hill area and Cookham Rise). It is an intrinsic part of the character of the village and in very close proximity to the community that it serves being surrounded by houses.
14.8.8 It is also visible in views from the Moor and from the eastern end of the Causeway. Poundfield is the subject of several Stanley Spencer paintings, including a series of scenes at Englefield and a panoramic view stretching towards The Pound. This is considered in greater detail in the context of the Cookham High Street Conservation Area within the accompanying appraisal reviewed in 2016.
Policy IF 3 Local Green Space
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14.10.1 Open space is an important feature of the Borough, forming the element of green and blue infrastructure that primarily delivers amenity value. In addition to public open space there are large areas of privately owned open space that residents and visitors can enjoy, including National Trust land around Pinkneys Green and Cookham, and Crown Land in Windsor Great Park.
14.10.2 Both public and private open spaces underpin people’s quality of life and well-being, providing green ‘lungs’ in urban areas and forming an essential part of creating sustainable and healthy communities. It is important that local residents have access to open spaces, including outdoor sports and leisure facilities, near to their homes. The NPPF (2012) protects existing open space through Paragraph 74.
14.10.3 National planning guidance states that access to high quality open spaces and opportunities for sport and recreation can make an important contribution to the health and well-being of communities. The NPPF defines as all open space of public value which offers important opportunities for sport and recreation and can act as a visual amenity (NPPF, annex 2).
14.10.4 The Council’s Open Space Study (2019) provides an audit of existing open space in the Borough and analyses its quality, quantity and accessibility. It used six categories of open space:
The study concluded that the Borough is generally well-supplied with parks and gardens and natural and semi-natural greenspace, and the quantity of amenity greenspace is adequate. More provision for children and young people will be necessary to meet the growing need within the Borough. The overall provision of allotments is generally good across the Borough but there are shortages of burial space in some areas.
14.10.5 The study makes a number of recommendations, including that existing open space should be protected to meet current and projected needs, with increases in the quantity and quality of open spaces where necessary to address deficiencies. It is therefore important to protect and where appropriate increase provision in the future, particularly to meet the future needs associated with new development.
14.10.6 The Council has also produced a Playing Pitch Strategy and Action Plan (2016) which seeks to ensure that the provision of outdoor playing pitches meet the local needs of existing and future residents within the Borough. The Strategy found that there are some shortfalls in provision for some pitch sports and that there is a need to protect all existing provision and increase provision and pitch quality where this is feasible.
14.10.7 Site specific requirements for new open space are set out in Appendix C and for other sites, Appendix F sets out open space and play facilities standards, based on Fields in Trust guidelines.
14.10.8 The policy below allocates three sites as new or upgraded open space as part of the Green Infrastructure network. Braywick Park (AL15) is proposed as a mixed use strategic green infrastructure site to serve Maidenhead, including the new proposed residential area to the west AL13 (Desborough). It comprises a sports hub, a park, a special needs school and a wildlife zone, all of which will remain in the Green Belt. A new leisure centre to replace the Magnet Centre has been built within the sports hub on the site of the golf driving range. Two further Green Infrastructure sites are proposed in Maidenhead, land south of Ray Mill Road East (AL27) for a pocket park and habitat area and land north of Lutman Lane, Spencer’s Farm (AL28), which is proposed for sports facilities, public open space and a habitat area in conjunction with the adjacent residential development (AL25). Site specific requirements for these allocations are set out in Appendix C.
Policy IF 4 Open Space Existing Facilities
New Facilities
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14.12.1 The Borough has a network of over 300 kilometres of public rights of way, which currently provide for recreational use as well as routes for journeys to work and school. The Borough supports Safer Routes to School which promotes walking and cycling to school. This network includes the Green Way, which forms a waterside corridor from Cookham, through the centre of Maidenhead, to Bray. Covering over 19km, the Green Way provides an accessible path along the watercourse formed by the Fleet Ditch, Strand Water, the Maidenhead Ditch and York Stream. The Thames National Trail is one of 15 National Trails in England and Wales. It passes through Hurley, Cookham, Maidenhead, Eton, Windsor, Datchet and Old Windsor. In places the trail crosses the Thames to follow the Buckinghamshire side of the river.
14.12.2 Access to the public rights of way and cycle networks in the Borough make a significant contribution to people’s health and well-being and sense of place. Access to these networks also contributes to the Plan’s objective of helping to ensure a high quality of life for residents of all ages. Access - for all - to a network of public rights of way and opportunities for recreation can make an important contribution to the health and well-being of communities as recognised in the NPPF.
14.12.3 The Borough's “Public Rights of Way Management and Improvement Plan 2016-2026” (ROWMIP) identifies ways to improve access on public rights of way for all, especially those with visual and mobility impairments, walkers, cyclists, equestrians and people with pushchairs.
Policy IF 5 Rights of Way and Access to the Countryside
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14.14.1 Community facilities contribute to sustainable development by providing venues and services for a wide range of activities. Such facilities make a significant contribution to the well being of residents and they enhance the sustainability of communities ensuring a high quality of life for all residents. Community facilities include local shops, meeting places, indoor sports venues, schools, cultural buildings, public houses, places of worship, health care facilities, leisure centres, libraries, day care centres and post offices.
14.14.2 They must be able to develop and modernise in a way that is sustainable in order to make it possible for them to remain in use. Some facilities, such as local shops and public houses are also commercial concerns. The Borough strongly supports retaining these facilities where they can raise the quality of community life and help promote thriving, inclusive and sustainable communities. Such facilities can also generate employment, have a positive impact on the local evening economy and may be used to underpin larger mixed use developments.
14.14.3 Community facilities can now be registered as an Asset of Community Value which affords additional protection particularly in respect of the retention of such facilities.
14.14.4 It is envisaged that community facilities will combine several functions and form a vital focus for social and recreational activities. For example a number of existing schools allow public use of sports pitches and recreational facilities outside of school hours, an approach that will be pursued when new schools are developed. The policy supports the principle of co-locating facilities, although transport and accessibility implications will be carefully reviewed when considering such proposals. Supporting the co-location of community facilities and services at sites of local and district significance includes supporting and strengthening the voluntary and community sector network of organisations in order to maximise the use and viability of community buildings.
14.14.5 The Indoor Sport and Leisure Facility Strategy for the Borough produced following a Built Facilities Assessment identifies the importance of existing current leisure stock at multi-use indoor centres across the Borough such as Windsor Leisure Centre, Charters Leisure Centre, Cox Green School, Furze Platt School and other dual use provision. The Strategy recommends that where any new state schools are built, site master planning and sports provision location and design should be orientated to accommodate community use, and secured via an appropriate and binding community use agreement.
14.14.6 The policy ensures that any development proposals that would result in the loss of community, leisure and cultural facilities must be accompanied by an assessment of both existing facilities and the need for and value of the facility to the community. Where there is evidence that existing provision is not able to meet needs, the Council will work with partners to seek and where possible, enable new facilities.
Policy IF 6 Community Facilities
Loss of Facilities
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Telecommunications
14.16.1 Convenient access to modern technology plays a central part in Borough residents' lives. Advanced, high quality communications infrastructure is essential to support sustainable economic growth and enables many aspects of modern life including flexible working patterns and home working. The development of high speed broadband technology and other communications networks also play a vital role in enhancing the provision of local community facilities and services, particularly in rural areas.
14.16.2 Rural communities and small businesses benefit particularly from enhanced broadband coverage. This has a number of benefits including support for the local economy, greater social inclusion, and reduced pressure on the environment by reducing the need to travel.
14.16.3 The Superfast Berkshire project aims to improve broadband speeds and coverage across Berkshire in those areas not covered by commercial broadband roll-out. The project's intention is to implement sustainable, future-proof improvements in broadband infrastructure.
14.16.4 It was scheduled to deliver superfast broadband coverage (greater than 24Mbps) to 92.3% of the county by the end of 2015, and has signed contracts to extend superfast coverage to 95.6% by the end of 2017. The project aims to ensure all remaining Berkshire premises can access basic broadband at speeds of at least 2Mbps.
Water supply and sewerage
14.16.5 Sustainable management of natural resources is important and the Borough is in one of the driest parts of the country. It also experiences a high level of demand for water and in some areas the demand is close to exceeding the available supply.
14.16.6 The provision of water and waste water and sewerage infrastructure is an essential element of any new development. The Borough has worked with partners to prepare an Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) that examines current infrastructure provision in the Borough and the changes made necessary by planned developments. Climate change is leading to more unpredictable weather patterns and this in turn affects the availability of water, so care must be taken to ensure that sufficient supplies and infrastructure are available to service any new developments.
14.16.7 There is a demonstrable need for new water resource schemes in parts of south east England, and increased demand management to cater for water supply needs of current and future development and the protection of the environment. Should the water or sewerage undertakers or the Environment Agency identify sites that are required to deliver necessary water or sewerage infrastructure, these should be safeguarded through the planning process.
14.16.8 Thames Water is currently the statutory sewerage undertaker for the whole Borough and also the statutory water undertaker for part of the Borough. Remaining parts of the Borough are currently supplied with water by Affinity Water (formerly Veolia) and South East Water.
14.16.9 To ensure that sufficient water supplies and sewerage infrastructure are available to service any new developments, it will be necessary to examine existing provision and the impact that a development proposal is likely to have on capacity and water pressure. The major statutory undertaker in the Borough has provided information on the capacity of existing sewerage and water infrastructure to accommodate new development, and this has informed preparation of the plan and the Infrastructure Delivery Plan.
14.16.10 Water companies’ investment programmes are based on a five year cycle known as the Asset Management Plan (AMP) process, which in turn is informed on a strategic level by Water Resources Management Plans. In these plans, water companies forecast the available supply for water and likely supply over a 25 year period.
14.16.11 If the forecast shows a deficit, then the plan sets out a range of demand management and new water supply options to meet that shortfall. The Borough will work with the Environment Agency and other partners that provide water and sewerage services across the Borough over the plan period to identify infrastructure needs and to ensure that adequate water supply and sewerage capacity is provided in a timely manner to meet planned demand.
Policy IF 7 Telecommunications
Water Supply and Sewerage Infrastructure
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