Draft Bradford District Local Plan - Preferred Options (Regulation 18) February 2021

Menston

Introduction

5.18.1 Menston is located in the Wharfe valley. The settlment is located roughly 11km north of Bradford, 7km south west of Ilkley and 16 km north east of Leeds City Centre. The settlement lies to the south of the River Wharfe. The nearest settlements being Burley-in-Wharfedale to the north west and Guiseley in the Leeds District to the south east. To the south of Menston is a residential area in the Leeds District, formed from conversion of the former High Royd's hospital site. Rombalds Moor lies to the west.

5.18.2 The settlement is predominantly residential, expanded from a historic village centre. It is split into three main areas divided by the railway line, the A65 and A6018 leading up to Otley Chevin. The settlement is served by a primary school, local convenience shops and services, a small local supermarket, post office, public houses, churches, community centre and library. Menston is located within the Shipley Parliamentary constituency in the Wharfedale ward. Menston Parish Council acts an administrative body for the parish area.

5.18.3 The settlement area has a population of 4,322 residents. The working aged population is 2,355 (54.5%) which is lower than the West Yorkshire average of 62.8%. People aged over 65 make up 27.5% of the population, which is above West Yorkshire average of 16.7%. Ethnic composition is primarily made up of people who identify themselves as White British (96%). This is a higher proportion than the West Yorkshire average (78.4%) but similar to other rural areas of the District.

Figure 1: Location Plan

Planning for Prosperity

15.18.4 The Local Plan settlement hierarchy identifies Menston as a Local Growth Centre within the Wharfedale sub area. This means that Menston is a location which has been promoted to the third tier of the settlement hierarchy due to its role and function. It is a sustainable local centre and is accessible to larger settlements such as Ilkley and Bradford due to access to public transport via the train station. This growth will reflect a balance between the contribution that development can make to meeting housing need but also reflecting a number of environmental constraints. The plan will also support limited retail and leisure development within Menston Local Centre to meet day to day needs and benefit from excellent road and/or rail links.

15.18.5 Menston is identified as one of the least deprived areas in the Bradford District. The Wharfedale Ward is the least deprived ward in the District for the Index of Multiple Deprivation and is least deprived for both income and employment deprivation. In Menston 0.1% of households are suffering from multiple deprivation, compared to a West Yorkshire average of 0.7%.

Economy and Employment

15.18.6 There are a number of employers in Menston, including in shops and supermarkets, stone merchants, kennels, gyms, beauticians, hairdressers, funeral directors, car dealerships, printers, newsagents with Post Office, golf equipment suppliers, taxis, public houses, takeaways, cafes, delicatessen and a pharmacy. The Kirklands community centre also provides volunteering opportunities at the library and to help run the centre. The three largest groups for work force based jobs in Menston are Health, Education and Business administration & support services. In Menston, the largest local business unit is Professional Scientific and technical services, second is construction and the third largest is Post & Telecommunications. Almost 90% of these businesses employ 0 to 4 people.

15.18.7 Of all adults aged between 16 and 74, 2,218 are economically active. This is higher than the West Yorkshire average. The average annual household income of £54,600 is significantly higher than regional West Yorkshire average of £38,499.

15.18.8 No specific employment allocation is proposed for this Local Growth Centre, although under Policy SP6 economic growth and investment will continue to be supported, particularly with a focus upon the priority sectors within the Wharfedale corridor of health, digital and professional services.

Retail

15.18.9 Menston has a designated Local Centre, however there is no single local centre boundary. The centre's retail and service facilities are instead distributed in clusters along a stretch of Main Street & East Parade. The Convenience offer is anchored by the Co-op Food Store and there is a Sainsbury local store on the A65 but this is outside the area considered by the retail and leisure study. Compared to national averages, Menston is over represented by convenience uses. There is only one single unit in comparison use, a chemist close to the junction of Main Street & Cleasby Street. The comparison offer is significantly lower than the national average considered to be characteristic of centres of this size. Leisure services include two pubs, two takeaways and a sandwich shop. These are mostly located at the western end of the centre at the junction of Main Street and Burley Lane. Community facilities include a GP surgery, Menston Primary school, Kirklands Community Centre and Menston library. At the time of the retail and leisure survey in 2019 there was one vacant unit on Cleasby Road.

15.18.10 Menston fulfils the role of a local centre which caters to the basic daily needs of the immediate population with other and more specialist functions & requirements being met in larger nearby centres such as Baildon or Ilkley. The Retail and Leisure Study (2019) suggests that the dispersed nature of the centre could impact on its viability. There is a general lack of offer beyond daily convenience and service needs and poor parking options and availability. Figure 2 shows the location of the Local Centre.

Figure 2: Menston Local Centre

Transport and Access

5.18.11 Menston is located along the A65, which provides excellent road connections to Leeds and Bradford via Shipley along Bradford Road/Otley Road. Menston has good public transport links with a frequent train service and bus stops throughout the centre. There is a station which provides a regular train service to Ilkley, Leeds and via Shipley to Bradford Forster Square. On-street parking is predominant throughout the Centre. There are some dedicated parking spaces at Menston library / Kirklands community centre The area is primarily a commuter settlement.

5.18.12 Bus stops are located throughout the centre but regularity and service destinations vary between them The area is served by several high-frequency (every 15 to 20 minutes) bus routes with services linking to Otley and Leeds. Only 13% of all households have no car, compared with 29.4% across West Yorkshire.

5.18.13 There are numerous footpaths and bridleways leading out of the settlement into the countryside and connecting with the wider public rights of way network. Proposals for the Wharfedale Greenway, which would link Menston with Burley, Addingham and Otley with a traffic free route for safe walking and cycling, are supported in the plan which will seek to safeguard a route following further detailed feasibility work for when funding allows implementation.

Table 1: Menston Transport Projects

5.18.14 In relation to digital connectivity the average broadband download speed is 29.74 Mbytes which is slower than 44.6 Mbytes West Yorkshire average. There are no households with broadband speeds below the Universal Service Obligation level

Planning for Homes

5.18.15 There are 1,979 dwellings within the settlement area which consist of 85% owner occupied, 1.1% of these are local authority rented, 4% housing association rented and 9.6% private / other rented tenure.

5.18.16 Menston is predominantly an area of residential estates of varying ages and predominantly detached and semi-detached properties. There is an area of terraced and back to back properties in the older part of the settlement which dates back to 971 AD. The area has a varied mix of house types with majority detached (35.6%), which is much higher than regional and national averages, semi-detached (33.8%), with older terraced properties accounting for 16.1% and purpose built flats (12%), which is below the regional average. Figure 3 below provides further information.

Figure 3: Menston – Dwelling Type Breakdown

5.18.17 The average house price is £330,569 for all house types, which is much higher than the District and West Yorkshire average of £183,194. The total affordability ratio between house prices and annual earnings which is usually used as a proxy for number of years' worth of earnings required for a house deposit is 4.2 compared to a West Yorkshire average of 2.96. Affordability is therefore an issue for newly forming households wanting to live in the area.

5.18.18 Delivering new housing is a key part of the overall development strategy for Menston. It will ensure that the housing needs and aspirations of local people can be met, together with those of future residents, including market and affordable housing. In addition, it will support services in the Local centre.

5.18.19 Policy SP8 in the local plan sets out a minimum requirement of 350 dwellings to be delivered during the plan period. These will be delivered through a mix of committed sites (those under construction or have planning permission but have not yet commenced) and site allocations. Table 2 below sets out the housing position for Menston, which also includes the application of non-implementation or discount rates for planning permissions and allocations.

Table 2: Menston - Summary of Housing Requirement and Supply

5.18.20 Once the commitments are discounted and removed from the supply this leaves a residual allocation requirement of 164 units. The evaluated total site supply of housing units from preferred allocation sites equates to 201 units which is in turn discounted by 10% for non- implementation or reduced delivery leaving a final allocation contribution of 181 units across all sites, which is slightly above the remaining allocation requirement (164 units) but is reflective of site yield of identified sites. The Council will be supportive of additional proposals for new homes on additional small sites, particularly those that provide a redevelopment opportunity to bring forward land which has been previously used. Support will also be provided to developers who wish to redevelop larger sites and/or buildings for new homes not currently identified, subject to all relevant policies in the Local Plan.

5.18.21 The area is constrained by Green Belt with no brownfield growth options available. Menston's allocation mix of two sites is two greenfield sites, one of which is within the urban area, whilst one falls within the current Green Belt. In delivering the target for new homes in Menston it has been necessary to make some changes to the adopted green belt. Policy SP5 sets out The Councils approach and justification for green belt releases to accommodate new development and lists the sites proposed for allocation which current lie within or partly within the green belt. The Local Plan preferred site allocations for residential allocations to meet the Menston housing requirement are set out in Table A and identified on the Policies Map and the Site Pro Formas below together with the local strategies map for each plan area.

5.18.23 Development of site allocations should be in accordance with specified development guidelines and approximate site provision figures and all other relevant policies of this Local Plan.

Planning for Places and Communities

Green Belt, Natural Landscape and Historic Character

5.18.24 Menston is located in the Wharfe Valley. The village is constrained by Rombalds Moor to the west, which acts as a backdrop to the village, which is designated as Green Belt and South Pennine Moors Special Protection Area. The majority of this landscape is of high sensitivity. Green Belt designation surrounds Menston except to the South of the settlement, on its border with the High Royds Estate.

5.18.25 Menston is part of the Wharfedale Character Area. Wharfedale corresponds to the major broad, deep, glacial river valley of the Wharfe. The Wharfe and Aire Valleys are separated by Rombalds ridge. The settlements of Wharfedale have well defined edges with substantial woodlands and tree cover giving the valley a more enclosed and 'lush' character. Menston is one of these settlements. The Landscape Character assessment allocates the typology to the areas outside and surrounding the built up area of Menston as Enclosed Pasture, which is moderately sensitive.

5.18.26 Within Menston there is one Conservation Area and there are 13 Listed Buildings, Fairfax Hall is Grade II * and 12 are grade II Listed. Menston was one of a number of farming communities which had developed along the Wharfe valley. In 15^th Century there was a separate Manor hall within the feudal estate of the Archbishop of York. By the 17^th Century Menston experienced unprecedented changes during the industrial revolution which transformed the village into a thriving settlement. The village expanded into the 20^th Century after the 2^nd World War which saw many new housing developments expanding onto the green fields around the village, particularly around the station area. The Conservation Area boundary covers the old settlement of Menston, which retains elements from various stages in its early history and development and is based around the junction of Main Street, Derry Hill & Burley Lane.

Green Infrastructure (GI), Ecology, Open Space and Flood Risk

5.18.27 Menston has a network of green spaces and green corridors, linking the settlement to the wider countryside. The Disused Railway line to the north of the settlement forms an important green infrastructure corridor and habitat network. The main GI corridors are detailed below in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Green Infrastructure Corridors

5.18.28 Menston is bordered by countryside to the South West. Most of the area lies within Zone B, (2500m) of the South Pennine Moors Special Protection Area, (SPA), and areas on the Eastern edge of Menston are within Zone C (7000m) of the SPA. A small area of the settlement is outside the SPA zones. There are no ancient woodlands, or formal wildlife designations within the settlement itself.

5.18.29 In regards to formal open space, Menston has 9.87ha of open space across 15 sites. Key siteswithin the Menston settlement area include:

• Menston Recreation Ground
• Menston Cricket Ground

5.18.30 There is a significant deficit in provision with less than half the amount of required open space being available within the settlement area. There is also an imbalance between the different typologies of open space that currently exist in the settlement. Within four typologies, there is no provision within Menston, for Allotments, Civic, Green and Blue Corridors and Natural and Semi-natural Greenspace. Key public spaces such as Menston Park and the play area sites are also concentrated in the southern half of the settlement. In terms of distribution there are large residential areas to the north which have limited or no immediate open space provision. Additional play area space to the north of the settlement would benefit residents and help to ensure better access to facilities.

5.18.31 Of particular note is the deficit of and Semi-natural Greenspaces and provision of such space should be considered as a high priority where opportunities arise. However, Menston is surrounded by open countryside and this in part provides a substitute for the lack of space within the settlement. Other typologies which are a high priority for increased provision include Outdoor Sports space and Parks and Gardens. Although there is some existing provision, the offer for outdoor sports is fairly limited and the location of both types of space is limited to the southern part of the settlement. Additional provision to the north would help to both balance provision levels and the distribution of sites. There is also no existing allotment provision in Menston.

5.18.32 The converted development of High Royds hospital site, adjacent to Menston, provides an expanse of open space which residents of Menston can use but is outside the Bradford boundary in Leeds. This area includes a cricket ground, Lake and walking / wildlife area. Figure 5 below illustrates the location and type of open space provision in the settlement.

Figure 5: Menston - Open Space Overview

5.18.33 Menston has areas of fluvial flood risk along Mire Beck, to the East of the A65 with areas of higher flood risk within Flood Zone 3. Menston has limited areas of higher Surface Water Flood Risk and is identified as a groundwater flood hazard on the groundwater map. Groundwater flood risk should be considered on a site by site basis in development planning and should be considered particularly when determining acceptability of Sustainable Urban Drainage (SUDs) schemes as a way of managing surface water drainage.

Community Infrastructure – Education, Health and Utilities

5.18.34 Menston has a range of community facilities to meet the day to day needs of local people. These facilities include a primary school, healthcare facility, dentist, post office, places of worship, community halls/centres, playgrounds, and a library.

5.18.35 The area is served by one primary school (Menston Primary Schoool) There are no secondary schools within Menston but Menston is in the Ilkley Grammar secondary priority 2 zone. St Marys Roman Catholic school and Guiseley upper school are located close to Menston but outside the Bradford District boundary in Leeds. In Menston pupil attainment at both key stage 1,2, and 4 was slightly higher than the figures for England and West Yorkshire. Figure 6 shows the location.

5.18.36 Menston has an NHS registered healthcare facility within the settlement (Menston medical centre) Secondary (acute) healthcare is provided at Wharfedale Hospital, around 2km to the North East in Otley and Bradford Royal Infirmary around 12km to the South West. Figure 7 shows the location of local services in Menston. 5.18.37 Average life expectancy at birth for Menston residents is higher than the West Yorkshire and England average, with healthy life expectancy of 84 for men and 87 women.

5.18.38 When planning for the long-term development, it is vital that new development is supported by the appropriate infrastructure. The capacity, quality and accessibility of services and facilities are all key components in ensuring people can enjoy living, working and visiting the area. The Council will continue work with key infrastructure providers and others including the Local Education Authority, Clinical Commissioning Group and utilities providers to determine the impacts of future growth and development on local infrastructure capacity and provision. Further infrastructure details will be published through the Local Infrastructure Plan and as part of the Regulation 19 stage of the local plan.

Figure 6: Schools in Menston

(10) Consultation Question 122

Preferred Site Allocations and Site Pro Formas

5.18.39 The preferred housing site allocations are detailed below in Table A. This table is followed by site pro formas for each preferred site allocation proving a summary of key site information and characteristics.

Table A: Menston: Housing - Preferred Allocations

(10) Consultation Question 123