RAF Halton redevelopment proposals – register your opinions by 4 March

Wendover and Halton residents have been given until 4 March to register their opinions on the latest proposals for the redevelopment of RAF Halton after the service leaves towards the end of this decade. This can be done online, or via email or written letter.

There will also be a public drop-in meeting on 21 February at Halton Village Hall, 11 Old School Close, HP22 5NG, from 14:00 to 20:00.

In Wendover News’ opinion, this timescale is far too short for public comment, especially in view of the length of the documents being presented, the planning jargon used throughout, and the complexity of the commenting arrangements. However, Wendover News understands that the time scale is determined by planning legislation and cannot be varied. 

What’s going on?

On 22 January, Buckinghamshire Council released what it calls the “Draft RAF Halton Supplementary Planning Document.” This may well  be in response to some enquiries late last year about planning permissions from developers, so there will be an official starting position from the Council.

It does not mean that these proposals will be adopted, or retained during negotiations with developers. The SBD is the result of discussions between Buckinghamshire Council members and officers and other “local stakeholders” including Halton Parish Council, adjoining parish councils,  plus  representatives of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) which will be involved in the disposal of the RAF base.

It appears to work on the assumption that the RAF will vacate the site “after 2027,” though local rumours say this will be postponed to 2029 at the earliest.

The starting point is a proposal for at least 1,000 homes; building a new primary school and a mixed-use local centre including a community hall; the “creation, enhancement and restoration of woodland, parkland and open spaces”; some new access roads; and new or improved pedestrian and cycling routes across the site and to the wider area.

Not all building work will be new, the plan also includes the reuse or conversion of existing listed and historic buildings.

The area so far involved is the whole of the RAF Halton site to the east of Upper Icknield Way (ie the right hand side if driving out of Wendover, with the main entrance, guard house, barracks, parade ground etc), plus most of the current base area on either side of Chestnut Avenue (which leads off Upper Icknield Way to the west), as far as the junction with Halton Lane and the right hand bend to Halton Village. The area covered is 82 hectares.

All this land is within the current Green Belt, but just outside the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which follows the borders of Wendover Woods at this point.

Viewing the proposals online

The first point of access is a website, https://yourvoicebucks.citizenspace.com/planning/raf-halton, (or you can use the simplified URL https://bit.ly/42rQXwI). This lets you download the planning document and contains a link where you can register to comment, here: https://buckinghamshire.oc2.uk.

This page also has a 15-minute video summarising the proposals, which can also be viewed on YouTube, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WNxT7kEC2M.

Most of the plans are covered in the downloadable document, “RAF Halton Draft Supplementary Planning Document,” which is a 5.44MB PDF file. It can be downloaded here: https://bit.ly/3OzViYR. It covers 85 pages and is very detailed if somewhat repetitive, including site description maps, as well as imagery and maps of the proposed developments and locations, tables, and reproduction of the Aylesbury Development Plan.

There are two other files: the RAF Halton Strategic Environmental Assessment (PDF 4.15MB); and RAF Halton Habitats Regulations Assessment (PDF 6.26MB).

How to comment

If you want to give your opinions on these online, this you have to go to the website https://yourvoicebucks.citizenspace.com/planning/raf-halton (or the simplified https://bit.ly/42rQXwI) and follow the link at the bottom of the page to register yourself. The three documents are presented there as web pages. The only way to express your views appears to be by clicking on icons next to paragraphs through the pages, and typing in comments for any of these you chose. There appear to be no pre-set forms, tick box options or any other way of expressing opinions.

Alternatively, comments can be sent by email to planningpolicyteam.bc@buckinghamshire.gov.uk; or in writing to:

RAF Halton SPD consultation, Buckinghamshire Council, Queen Victoria Road, High Wycombe, HP11 1BB.

Main proposals

The report says that a “landscape led approach” will be made to development and says the development “aims to retain at least 50% of the site area as a multi-functional network of public green spaces and habitats.”

Quite a lot of existing RAF barracks and administrative buildings in the areas southeast of Upper Icknield Way will be retained, either because they are Grade II listed, or because they are classed as “Non-designated heritage assets to be retained.” These will be converted to housing. The parade ground will be grassed over and landscaped to become a public park with a play area, and there will be a separate community orchard.

Retained buildings on the other side of Upper Icknield Way, on both sides of Chestnut Avenue, include St George’s Church. There have been separate indications that the Trenchard Museum might be be moved there, although the SPD itself mentions combining the museum with the existing County Museum Resource Centre.

Halton House, also Grade II listed, will be retained, together with its gardens and park, and there is provision to retain or open up the views from and to the House. Some of the RAF’s buildings may be removed in the vicinity of the House. However there is no mention of what the House might become – other former Rothschild houses in the area have tended to be converted to hotels.

There are proposed walking and cycling routes, and traffic calming measures along stretches of Upper Icknield Way and Chestnut Avenue. One of the maps includes a hint of a new walking route from the southwest side of Chestnut Avenue (roughly where the old workshops are now) towards Wendover. This isn’t mentioned in the text, but it’s possible that it would link up with the existing pathway along the former Halton railway line to Ashbrook Park and Aylesbury Road.

New houses and apartments will be built, in currently unused areas around the edges of the barracks blocks on the southeast side of Upper Icknield Way, and on the present site of the abandoned workshops to the southwest of Chestnut Avenue.

“A contemporary architectural character is encouraged,” says the report.

These will include formal street layouts of terraces, town houses and apartments of two to three storeys; short runs of terraces and semi-detached houses, in varying densities. There will be provision for some affordable housing, self-build and custom-build plots.

New community amenities will include a civic centre close to St George’s church; a new combined primary school and pre-school facility. There appears to be no clear provision for any shops and no mention of a medical centre. The existing RAF fire station on Upper Icknield Way is not mentioned but the maps appear to indicate that its position will become housing.

Current RAF sports grounds and facilities will be retained, as will be the WWI trenches and some other historic areas. Who will be responsible for maintaining these is unclear.

By Simon Eccles and Richard Byford, Wendover News