New Milton Neighbourhood Plan

water tower over the roof line showing a variety of modern roof styles

NM3: Land East of Caird Avenue

This policy is proposed to be modified from the current Neighbourhood Plan

This policy is proposed to be updated (in strikethrough and purple)  to recognise that the supermarket on the site has now been delivered and that the remaining developable part of the site may provide a suitable location for a new healthcare facility and business innovation centre or hub use. 

Policy NM3: Land East of Caird Avenue

The Neighbourhood Plan allocates land east of Caird Avenue, as shown on the Policies Map (Site 31) for a mixed-use development comprising business innovation centre and hub,and/or healthcare food retail uses facilities and green infrastructure.

Development proposals should be made in the form of a comprehensive masterplan and should have full regard to the following principles and subject to an appropriate sequential test to prevent inappropriate class E development in this out-of-town centre location.

The employment scheme shall comprise land to deliver approximately 1,800 sqm GEA of Class E (c-g)  floorspace to be accessed from the southern access road only;

b. The food retail scheme shall comprise land to deliver approx. 1,800 sqm GEA of A1 floorspace to be accessed from the southern access road only;

The text in the policy above will be updated as work on the neighbourhood plan progresses. Please review the modifications and tell the steering group your thoughts on the proposed changes.

Tell us your views

Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2025 OS AC0000822094. Terms and Conditions apply. For more information about how to navigate policy maps, please visit the policy map page.

Original policy text

The Neighbourhood Plan allocates land east of Caird Avenue, as shown on the Policies Map, for a mixed-use development comprising business and food retail uses and green infrastructure. 

Development proposals should be made in the form of a comprehensive masterplan and should have full regard to the following principles and the retail scheme subject to an appropriate sequential test: 

  1. The employment scheme shall comprise land to deliver 1,800 sqm GEA of B1 floorspace to be accessed from the southern access road only; 
  2. The food retail scheme shall comprise land to deliver approx. 1,800 sqm GEA of A1 floorspace to be accessed from the southern access road only; 
  3. The green infrastructure scheme shall comprise: 
  1. an effective landscape buffer to screen the adjoining minerals operations, the employment land from residential development and to screen Carrick Way Woodland a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation;
  2. the retention of existing trees on the southern boundary and retention of the existing shelter belt of mature trees / hedgerow and green verges on the western boundary to maintain the green setting of Caird Avenue; and, 
  3. any measures that are required to satisfy the Habitat Regulations and the adopted Mitigation Strategies or any future relevant requirements; 
  1. the layout of the schemes allows for, and does not compromise, the continuing minerals operations adjoining the site boundary; and 
  2. The infrastructure scheme shall comprise: 
  1. A comprehensive package of on and off-site transport and movement measures that link to the movement network defined in Policy NM12 to satisfactorily mitigate the effect of the comprehensive scheme on local roads and to encourage the use of sustainable modes of transport; and 
  2. The delivery and maintenance of an effective sustainable drainage system including the protection of Danes Stream and the retention of at least an 8m buffer zone. 
  1. The layout of the site is planned to ensure future access to the existing sewerage infrastructure for maintenance and upsizing purposes. 

Supporting text

This policy updates and carries forward policies NMT4 and NMT5 of the New Forest District (outside the National Park) Local Plan Part 2: Sites and Development Management (2014) by allocating land at Caird Avenue on the south-eastern edge of the town for a mixed use development scheme and associated pedestrian and cycle links. 

The site is in single ownership and has been put forward for development. The policy boundary excludes the minerals area as defined by Local Plan Part 2 Policy NMT6. 

The development principles accord with those of the strategic sites allocated in the Local Plan in terms of ensuring the proper planning of the land and the successful delivery of supporting infrastructure. They are not intended to provide an exhaustive list of every policy requirement – other development plan policies (e.g. on car parking standards) will also apply but are not repeated here. 

The policy establishes the key development principles to deliver a successful and viable scheme that offsets the remediation costs of the land and that will bring forward the site which has been an aspiration for many years. This is since discovering land stability issues which precludes residential development as was proposed by Local Plan Part 2 Policy NMT4. The site remains well suited to delivering new employment land in a competitive location for the town and the scheme will generate approximately 150 new jobs in addition to retaining almost 100 jobs currently available on site. 

The policy recognises the importance of the scheme not undermining the ongoing minerals operations of the adjoining land but cannot seek to modify those operations, as this is defined as ‘excluded development’ for a Neighbourhood Plan. Hampshire County Council confirm that the mineral operations are of Strategic Importance in South West Hampshire. 

The policy also responds to the opportunity to consolidate the arrangement of current and future land uses within the site to achieve a better planning outcome.