The council has started putting together a design code for developments at the South West Rugby site.
A design code details the design requirements for development and aims to:
We intend the design code to:
The design code will become a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), meaning it will be a material consideration in planning applications.
The SPD will be used by applicants to progress designs during the development process and by council development management officers when determining planning applications.
We intend to hold a number of workshops where residents can discuss the design code with officers.
Rugby Borough Council ran a public workshop at Dunchurch Village Hall on Tuesday 4 June 2024.
This was a chance to learn more about the design code and to participate in discussions about the design of elements such as streets, public open spaces and buildings. We also discussed a developing ‘vision’ for the site.
A follow up session for previous attendees was held on Tuesday 5 November 2024.
The South West Rugby Masterplan SPD provides additional detail to support the Local Plan allocation for the South West Rugby development.
At appendix K, the SPD includes a schedule of strategic infrastructure needed to support the development, including costs.
Appendix K will inform the Section 106 agreements with the developers of the South West Rugby site, which will provide contributions towards the delivery of the infrastructure.
The SPD states appendix K will be periodically reviewed and updated.
Since the SPD was adopted in June 2021 the costs of the strategic infrastructure have been affected by inflation and there is now a greater level of understanding of the scope of some of the infrastructure projects.
As a result, appendix K has been updated and the SPD has been amended to include the updated infrastructure costs.
In addition to updating appendix K, the council has made a minor clarificatory amendment to the comments on the provision of parks and gardens on page 35 of the SPD. This amendment is shown as a tracked change in the document.
The public consultation on the amended South West Rugby Masterplan SPD ran from Monday 15 January to Monday 12 February 2024.
The council has published the following documents for consultation:
Download the amended appendix K (including details of changes and the reasons for the change)
Download the amended South West Rugby Masterplan SPD
The following supporting evidence has been published for the consultation:
Download note on cost of bus infrastructure
Download note on cost of bus services
Download note on active travel costs
Download Alwyn Road/Main Street Junction - Scheme Option Appraisal
We have started the process of reviewing the responses to the public consultation.
An update will follow in due course.
The Rugby Borough Local Plan was adopted in June 2019. It allocates the South West Rugby site for 5,000 dwellings and 35 hectares of employment.
The SPD will sit beneath the Local Plan. Its purpose is to provide additional detail and information to help guide and support comprehensive development in line with the Local Plan.
An SPD is a material consideration in the determination of planning applications, but it cannot add new policy to a Local Plan.
The SPD was required by the Local Plan Inspector and is specifically referred in Policies DS8 and DS9 of the Local Plan.
Public consultation was held on the Draft South West Rugby Masterplan SPD for six weeks in October – November 2019.
Changes were made to the SPD in response to the comments received and these were explained in the Cabinet report seeking approval for further public consultation on 7 September 2020. Details of the consultation responses, the Council’s response and changes to the SPD were set out in the Consultation Statement - Appendix 2 to Agenda Item 7, Cabinet 7 September 2020.
Further public consultation was held on the Revised Draft SPD in October 2020 for four weeks.
Changes have been made to the SPD in response to the comments received to the further public consultation on the Revised Draft SPD. Details of the consultation responses, the Council’s response and changes to the SPD are set out in the Adoption Statement - Appendix 2A to Agenda Item 5, Cabinet 7 June 2021.
Both consultations were open to anyone who wished to provide comments.
The SPD ensures the creation of a green and blue infrastructure network that includes the landscaped buffer between Dunchurch and Rugby to prevent coalescence between the two settlements and creates a continuous green infrastructure corridor between Cock Robin Wood and Cawston Spinney. This network will also link a range of other spaces and assets such as open space, gardens, trees, hedgerows, streams and ponds.
The SPD provides for over 65 hectares of open space in accordance with the Local Plan open space standards.
The SPD requires that site features, including hedgerows and trees, are retained wherever possible, including areas already protected by group Tree Preservation Orders. Any proposed loss of biodiversity features will need to be justified through the planning application process and mitigation measures identified.
The SPD advises developers on how to plan their developments in a way that prevents harm to the on-site woodland and more specifically to prevent loss or deterioration of the ancient woodland within the allocation.
The SPD includes a Woodland Management Plan which will enable long term stewardship and management of the woodland.
Key pieces of highway infrastructure are to be delivered as part of the South West Rugby development including the Homestead Link and the Potsford Dam Link. These mitigation measures were identified in the transport modelling work prepared for the Local Plan and are requirements of Policies DS8 and DS9 in the Local Plan. Detailed work is ongoing with the County Council on the design and implementation of this infrastructure.
The Homestead Link will minimise impacts on the existing highway network and relieve pressure on other areas, in particular the Dunchurch Crossroads.
The Homestead Link investment has been secured and work is underway on preparing the planning application for submission later this year.
High quality public transport services to the town centre and a comprehensive walking and cycling network to link residential areas with key facilities on site will also be provided. Work is underway with the County Council to identify the bus services required as well as the new cycling and walking routes and infrastructure. Appendix K of the SPD includes costs for the bus services and the cycling network improvements. The primary cycling routes are also listed in Appendix K.
The SPD provides further detail on the phasing of development and the infrastructure required. This is based on information provided by the service/ infrastructure providers for the Local Plan and updated for the SPD.
The SPD also provides guidance for an overarching Section 106 framework for planning applications in South West Rugby to ensure the strategic infrastructure delivery costs are equitable and proportionate.
The Council is taking a partnership approach to the delivery of South West Rugby - working closely with Homes England, the Midlands Design Review Panel, Warwickshire County Council, infrastructure and service providers, and the private sector to bring much needed homes, including affordable housing, and jobs as well as schools and other local services to the area.