Key Village
Great Chesterford
General Description:
The village is some 11 miles south of Cambridge and 4 miles north of Saffron
Walden. It lies in the Cam valley immediately east of the M11 motorway where
there is a major junction for south bound traffic to London and a link w it h the
A11/A14 road netw ork to New market and Norw ic h. T he B1383 (previously the
A11) forms the western boundary to the conservation area and is the main route
to Stansted Mountfitchet and Bishops Stortford. The railw ay line provides
passenger train servic es to Cambrid ge, Bishops Stortford, London and Stansted
Airport.
There are three distinct areas w ithin the settlement. The first to the southwest
of the river along the B1383 consists of a mixture of modern housing, w ith some
early 20th century bungalows and a range of employment developments of
mixed styles. This is a less attractive part of the village w here the buildings are
generally plain and where there is a lack of vegetation. The overall openness of
the area and prominence of late 20th century industrial buildings contrasts
sharply w ith the historic core that lies close by to the north and east of the river.
The second area lies to the north east of the conservation area and is
characterised by standard 20th century residential development that extends
both sides of Jackson’s Lane up to the B184. A large area of housing built in the
20th century, w hilst not display ing any great architectural merit, does not detract
signif icantly from the nearby historic core. T his is partly due to the continued
presence of the attractive open pasture and parkland that acts as a very
important environmental buffer and backdrop. The third area is the conservation
area and historic part of the village (see below).
Population Profile:
The Mid 2007 population estimate for 2009 w ard - The Chesterfords is 1,651
which includes Great and Little Chesterford Parishes. (Source: ONS)
Population of The Chesterfords Ward by Age Group
80-84
70-74
Age Grou p
60-64
50-54
The Chesterfords
40-44
30-34
20-24
10-14
0-4
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
No of Peop le
Housing:
No of Households 2001:
588
No of Homes Completed 2001 – 2011:
7 (T he Chesterfords W ard)
No of Homes w ith Planning Permission
7
as at 1.4.11:
Existing No of Affordable Homes:
Local Authorit y Homes: 54
Housing Needs Assessment:
N/A
Potential Development Sites:
Sites assessed as being Suitable, Available and Achievable
Site Ref.
Address
No
(see map)
GtCHE3
Land south of Stanley Road, Rookery
52
Close and Four Acres, Great Chesterford
GtCHE6
Land at Rose Lane, Great Chesterford
6
58
T imescale
1 – 5 years
1 – 5 years
Sites assessed as being Suitable, Available and Achievable but w it h one or
more conditional Y scores (Y )
Site
Address
No
Reason for (Y)
Reference
Score
GT CHE1
T he Nursery,
16
Loss of
London Road,
employment land
GT CHES4
GT CHE7
T otal
Great Chesterford
Land off Station
Approach
Land north of
Great
Chesterford,
(Strategic Scale
Settlement)
6
6,425
Loss of
employment
land/access
Scheduled
Ancient
Monument,
T raffic Impact on
Saffron W alden,
Infrastructure and
Planning Gain
6,447
Source: Strategic Land Availability Assessment, Uttlesford District Council , 2010
Parish Aspirations as set out in Parish Plan/Design Statement:
N/A
Parish Council Representations on Further Preferred Options:
Parish Council continues to favour UDC’s preferred optio n (of a new settlement
at Elsenham). It opposes the proposition that a site north east of Great
Chesterford is a suitable alternative for a new settlement.
The PC has previously made clear that the development of 30 new homes would
be acceptable on the site of the former nursery on London Road.
Employment:
There is an employment area adjacent to the railw ay station which offers a w ide
range of job opportunities for residents and those commuting in from elsewhere.
Some employment facilities based in the village are representative of the modern
electronic and communications types to be found elsewhere in the Cambridge
sub-region.
The existing employment area comprises a mix of premises on Station Approach
which appear to be functioning well, a business park to the immediate north,
which is subject to a number of vacancies. T here is also a timber company
adjacent the commercial area to the south which appears to be operating
without generating problems for adjacent residential occupiers.
Infrastructure
Education:
2 pre-school groups. The C of E primary school in the village is at or above
capacity.
Net Capacity
2010/11
Number On
Roll 2011
Net Capacity
203
210
203
Forecast
Number on
Roll 2016
194
Source: Commissioning School Places in Essex 2011-2016, Essex County Council
The nearest secondary schools are at Saffron Walden (County High) and
Saw ston (Village College) each about 4 and 5 miles away to the south and north
respectively.
Shopping: “Thriving” shop/post office. Nearest supermarkets at Saffron Walden
(4 miles) and Saw ston (5 miles).
Leisure and Community Facilities: New ly-built Community Centre w ith sports
hall and meetin g rooms, football and cricket pit ches, 2 tennis courts, a bowling
green, childrens' playground and skate park. Range of clubs and societies.
Source : Uttlesford O pen Space, Sport Facility and Play ing Pitch Strategy , The Landscape
Partnership, January 2012
Health: There are 2 surgeries w ith 6 and 4 GPs respectively.
The nearest hospital w ith Accident and Emergency is Addenbrookes, Cambridge
8 miles aw ay. There is a communit y hospitals at Saffron W alden (4 miles)
providing a range of outpatient services. T he Rosie (Maternity) Hospital,
Cambridge is 8 miles aw ay.
Water, Drainage and Flood Risk:
Water: Veolia W ater Central (VW C) supply the District w ith water. Water
companies have a duty to supply drinking w ater (i.e. ‘potable w ater’ – w hich is
free of harmful chemicals and pathogens) to customers under Section 52 of the
Water Industry Act 1991, and are hence obliged to connect developments to the
network. Veolia are confident that adequate supply can be provided through the
existing netw ork and local borehole s. Connection of a site to the potable netw ork
will probably require the rein forcement of certain areas of the local netw ork. It is
assumed that this need w ill be addressed through the developer requisition
process. Great Chesterford is relatively close to the operational boundary
between w ater companies. It may therefore be possible for to be supplied by
other water companie s or via a new trunk main linked to the reservoir.
Drainage: Great Chesterford is currently served primarily by a small diameter
gravity sew erage system. Waste water is collected at a pumpin g station to the
north of the village and then pumped 0.8 km to a W aste W ater T reatment Works
(WwTW) w hich is partially restricted from expanding to the west by the
watercourse, flood plain and cordon, and to the east by the M11 slip road. It is
estimated that the current process capacity of the WwTW can accommodate the
flow s from 800 additional dwellings. T his is adequate capacity for all previously id entified development options except a possible new settlement. The latter
would require rebuilding of the WwTW although the alternative would be
treatment on site w ith a new WwTW discharging to a nearby w atercourse, or the
possible on site reuse of treated effluent for w ater supply.
There is, however, currently no capacity in the sewerage network for additio nal
dwellings such that any new develo pment w ill require a direct connection to the
existing WwTW. Hence, small scale development should ideally be located so
that the length of this new sew er is minimised otherw ise the cost of constructing
a long le ngth of new sewer could become prohibitive.
A new settlement to the north of the existing village boundary would be in close
proximit y (less than 1 km) to the WwTW, allow ing the direct connection of a new
sewer into the WwTW itself. T his new connection w ould be required to cross the
M11/A11 interchange slip roads, potentially entailing additional capital cost and
disruptio n. T he flows from the proposed new settlement would be an increase of
more than double the existin g flows, by approximately 2022. If a new
settlement were constructed from 2013 onw ards it is estimated that process
capacity would be reached by approximately 2018. It is likely that the WwTW
would require extensive upgrades to accommodate the flow s w hich would need
to be included in the five tear asset management cycle thus delaying the
commencement of the development until after 2020, unless the upgrades could
be phased in tandem w ith the growth.
A new settlement w ould increase the discharge of treated effluent to the River
Cam thus w arranting more stringent consent standards.
(Source: UDC W ater Cycle Study , Stage 1 – Scoping and Outline Strategy , Hyder Consulting,
2010)
Flood Risk: Much of the land either side of the tributaries to the River Cam to
the immediate north and south of the village and a strip of land around 70 m
wide alo ng the north west boundary is in the flood plain and hence at risk of a 20
year flood event (see map attached). Development in this locality has the
potential to increase the level of flood risk from the River Cam dow nstream by
in creasin g surface w ater run-off.
(Source: Uttlesford Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (JBA C onsulting, March 2008)
Transport
Road: The B1383 passes through the village north-south and the B184 parallels
it on its eastern side. These link to Saffron W alden to the south and Saw ston
and Cambridge to the north.
Access to the A11 (and M11 south-bound (to Stansted Airport, M25 and
London)) is approx. ½ mile to the north. Access to the M11 north-bound is via
the junction at Duxford approx. 5 miles to the north west.
Rail: There are direct (i.e. no change) half-hourly trains to London and
Cambridge in the rush hours and hourly outside of the rush hours. Journey time
is I hr. 9 or 1 hr. 15 mins. to London (Liverpool Street) and 18 – 20 mins. to
Cambridge.
There are 2 trains to Stansted Airport hourly both of which involving changing
trains. Fastest journey time is 41 mins. with 1 change of train s.
Bus: There is an hourly bus service on weekdays to Saffron Walden (15 min s.)
and Cambridge (1 hour).
7 Cottenham- Saffron W alden (13 each way 1/hr Mon-Fri), 101 WhittlesfordSaffron W alden (Tu, 1 out and 1 in), 132 Saffron W alden – Cambridge (Su/BH 5
each way)
Cycle/Footpath Routes: The 105 mile long Icknield W ay (which claims to be
'the oldest road in Britain') passes through Great Chesterford. It consists of
prehistoric pathw ays along the chalk 'spine' of England.
Minerals and Waste:
There are no proposals in the Essex Minerals Local Plan or the Essex W aste Local
Plan w hich affect this area.
Historic Environment
There is considerable evidence of prehistoric activity from the Mesolit hic period
onw ard. A crop mark of a large circular feature may be that of a Bronze Age
barrow. A late iron-age settlement and cemetery existed to the west of the
village. The Romans erected a fort to the east of w hat is now the B1383. Most
of the walled Roman town, the Romano-British temple and the main Saxon
cemetery are scheduled ancient monuments.
The chancel of the parish church dates from the mid thirteenth century. T he
Medieval period is well represented w ith a considerable number of ‘listed
buildings’ dating from the 17th century (although recent analysis suggests that
many of these may be from the 16th century).
Listed Buildings: There are about 70 individually listed buildings, the majority
(over 75%) of which are timber-framed and plastered. Of these, about 50% are
from the 17/18th centuries. Most have tiled roofs w hilst a small proportion is
thatched.
Conservation Areas: Great Chesterford Conservation area was first designated
by Essex County Council in 1969. Uttlesford District Council revised its
boundaries in 1977 and again in 2007.
Conservation Area Appraisal:
For the purposes of the appraisal the conservatio n area w as divided into 4 zones,
Area 1 - High Street and Rose Lane
The overall impression is of an area of considerable charm w here the w ide range
of tradit ional materials, shapes and heights provide a street scene that is of
pleasing visual appearance and of considerable architectural interest. The wide
range of buildin gs dating from the 16th through to the 19th and 20th century
provides consid erable historic interest.
The High Street is a principal entrance to the village linking the B184 w it h the
central part of the historic core. It is relatively wide when compared w ith many
other village streets. Some buildings are set back from the street w hilst others
abut it providing a rich variety of architectural detail, form and shape. T iled roofs
with dormers and chimney pots provide a distinctive roofline that is in terspersed
with slate roofs of later buildings from the 19th century.
Trees play an important role in the street scene elsewhere by providing vertical
emphasis and visual focal points. Some but not all are subject to T ree
Preservation Orders. Electricity poles in the central part of the High Street
in troduce an extremely discordant element, conflicting w ith the considerable
number of listed buildings and other important buildings nearby.
Area 2 - Manor Lane, South Street, School Street and Carmel Street
This is the central part of the village, not only in geographic terms but also acting
as a social focal point. T he roads are particularly narrow but the overall
impression is one of quality buildings and boundary w alls tightly containing the
very narrow streets. Diversity of form is provided by some buildings being at
right angles to the street, particularly along Manor Lane. The Parish Green off
South Street, known as Horse River Green, provides a public recreation area w ith
fine view s over the open countryside.
The view into Manor Farm is compromised by the presence and dominance of a
modern steel clad agricultural barn. T he most detracting image in this area is the
poor quality environment wit hin the curtilage of the County Primary school to the
north of the listed building and the ugly fencing that defines its frontage to
School Street.
Area 3 - Church Street and Newmarket Road South
Church Street, w ith its prominent boundary w all to the churchyard and listed
buildings on the north side, provides an enclosed street scene of the highest
quality. T he church dominates the area from a number of viewpoints, particularly
during the evening when it is lit. Extensive open spaces play an important
landscape function. In the southwest corner the tall four storey former King’s
Mill build ing is a dominant feature. T his part of the village is characterised by the
diversity of building types from different periods displaying varied styles and
characteristics, some set in extensive open space w here mature trees domin ate.
South of King’s Mill and the river is a long linear open space whose mature trees
perform a very important function in screening the industrial buildings beyond.
Area 4 - Carmen Street and Newmarket Road North
There are individual and groups of listed buildings together with other, principally
19th century, buildings that make an important contribution to the conservation
area. There are also areas of open spaces and countryside which play an
important landscape function. Other distinctive features that make an important
contribution are several lengths of quality w alling together w ith a number of
important views.
The area of grass on the edge of the conservation area contain s poles and signs
that would benefit from removal and rationalisation.
Historic Settlement Character Assessment:
The Historic Settlement Character Assessment of August 2007 found that
development would diminish the sense of place and local distin ctiveness of Great
Chesterford with the exception of the land to the south east of Stanle y Road and
Four Acres (site GtCHE3 above). On that site the effect of development would
at worst be neutral and at best improve the sense of place and local
distinctiveness of the settlement subject to retention of trees and hedges and the
provision of open space. The assessment also found that, whilst the quality of
new development can be designed to reduce detrimental effect, new
development north of the river w ould result in a detrimental impact on the
historic core to varying degrees.
Uttlesford District Historic Environment Characterisation Project ECC
2009:
The main part of the village is w ithin HEC Zone 1.1, Great Chesterford Roman
Town, settlement and temple.
The Great Chesterford zone consists of the site of the walled roman tow n, it s
extra-mural suburbs and cemeteries and temple, an early Saxon cemetery and
the medieval, post-medieval and modern village of Great Chesterford. T he River
Cam forms the western boundary of this zone. The archaeological deposits are
of national importance and much of the Roman tow n, temple and cemetery are
Scheduled.
The large Roman town at Great Chesterford (now a green-field site) is sited on
the county boundary w ith Cambridgeshire. T he medieval settle ment of the zone
is located beneath the present village all of w hich is protected as a Conservation
area. The village expanded little in the post-medieval period, but modern
housing estates and a small industrial estate have expanded over the area of the
Roman suburbs and cemetery. To the south of the modern village cropmarks
demonstrate that the Iron Age and Roman activity extended significantly further
than the scheduled area.
Green Infrastructure
Green Space/Allotments: Great Chesterford has an area of natural and seminatural greenspace at South Street but has no amenity greenspace. T here are no
allotments in the parish.
The recently-completed Uttle sford Open Space, Sport Facility and Playing Pitch
Strategy recommends that policies should seek additional amenity greenspace,
natural and semi-natural greenspace in Great Chesterford to mitigate for existing
and prospective deficiencies together w ith the provision of allotments.
Source : Uttlesford O pen Space, Sport Facility and Play ing Pitch Strategy , The Landscape
Partnership, January 2012
Landscape Character: The landscape is one of an arable farmland consisting
of large fields w ith limited tree cover sloping down to the valley bottom and
meeting the built up edge of the village on the alignment of the B184 formin g its
north eastern edge. T he overall characteristics are of an arable landscape of
impressive scale and open character w ithin w hich the village nestles in a bow l.
The Landscape Character of Uttlesford District (2007) id entifies one of the Key
Planning and Land Management Issues for the River Cam Valle y in which Great
Chesterford is situated as being the potential pressure from urban expansions on
it s edges.
Agricultural Land: The majority of land in the vicinity is of Grade 2 agricultural
quality w ith areas of Grade 3 along the river valle y.
Biodiversity: T he River Cam is listed as a UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority
habitat w ith a number of important habitats and species identified dow nstream.
It is currently failing to comply w ith W FD due to phosphate and dissolved oxygen
le vels. T here is a possibility that tighter consents may be required in future
cycles of the RBMP (post 2015).
Summary
Opportunities:
•
•
•
•
Potential for residential development of 2 sites for around 60 homes.
High Quality Built Environment
Significant Historic Interest
Railw ay Station
Key Issues:
•
•
•
No new affordable housing being delivered.
No capacit y at primary school and constrained site
No allotments