Our Proposals

New homes

The site will provide around 600 new high-quality homes for future residents, including 40% affordable homes.

The new homes proposed will include an appropriate range to meet local housing needs and will range from 1-bed apartments to 3+ bed houses.

Please note that this Masterplan has been updated following consultation in Summer 2024.

UPDATED Indicative Masterplan: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Primary school

To ensure the new community have the facilities and services they require on a day-to-day basis within easy reach, the development includes a site for a new primary school, with further reserved land for education. It is expected that the primary school will be built relatively early in the development phases.

Community hub

The Community Hub is capable of accommodating a GP surgery or other medical services as required. Alternatively, it could host a variety of indoor sports uses (table tennis, dance classes, yoga etc.), as well as meeting spaces, performance uses, and coworking space, for example. The building also has capacity to include a café, or even a small community shop. This building will be located close to the primary school, to create a central hub, or focus to the neighbourhood, around which daily life could be centred.

Access

The proposals aim to promote a sustainable development and the scheme has been designed to prioritise pedestrians, cyclists and public transport. New cycle routes and links will be designed into the layout, leading to areas that people may wish to go. These will be safe, overlooked and direct.

Pedestrian links will also be provided through the site and to the adjoining areas. New footways will be provided alongside the majority of the streets within the development, and the smaller streets and lanes will be designed to be shared by pedestrians and cars, with pedestrians given priority.

A bus route is proposed to be incorporated within the development, which will lead through the site to and from Great Ashby neighbourhood centre and beyond. The bus route will form the main movement route within the development, and all the new homes will be within easy access of this main street. Bus stops will be located throughout the development, to ensure that the new homes are within a short walk of the bus stops.

Potential Access Plan

Landscaping

The existing landscape framework will form the core of a connected network of green open spaces. Within these open spaces and corridors, the proposed surface water drainage features will also be located within the green corridors, as will pedestrian and cycle routes. These corridors will connect the various parts of the development, allowing easy walking and cycling routes alongside green spaces. New planting will also be incorporated in these corridors, to benefit wildlife and to create an attractive environment, ensuring connected network of habitats as well as movement routes for wildlife.

Ecology

Much of the woodland on the site is Ancient Woodland, and several of these are also locally designated as Local Wildlife Site. No development will take place within 15m of the Ancient Woodlands, in line with Natural England advice. New native planting will be introduced around the Ancient Woodlands to enhance their species diversity, provide additional habitat, and discourage people from entering these woodlands in order to minimise harm from people trampling the undergrowth.

We are aware that badgers use the site, and our surveys indicate that the badger setts of importance are located within the woodland areas. Therefore, they will be protected alongside the woodlands, and also by the additional planted buffers around the woodlands.

Other protected species that use the site include bats, which mostly use the woodland edges and some of the hedgerow corridors). The woodlands and vast majority of hedgerows will be retained within the development.

Surveys for dormouse found no evidence of their use of the site. A wide range of bird species were recorded on site, and mitigation measures will be included within the proposals as needed. No reptiles were recorded on the site. eDNA testing found no evidence of great crested newts using ponds on or near the site.

The proposed development includes much new native planting, including scrub, hedgerows, trees, and wildflower and long grassland meadows. The development will also include further off-site planting within the wider land within the control of the promoter, to enhance the landscape and ecological value of these areas, whilst also ensuring that the development delivers a net gain in biodiversity.

Further ecological mitigation measures will be designed into the scheme to ensure that harms to protected species and habitats are minimised and mitigated. These include measures such as bird and bat boxes, as well as hibernacula, and the planting will be designed to maximise ecological benefits and opportunities for wildlife.

New Neighbourhood Equipped Area for Play

The existing play area at Mendip Way will be removed to create the new access to the development. However, a new, larger play area will be provided just north of the new access. It will include more equipment, and offer play opportunities for a children of a wider age range than the current play area. It will also include inclusive equipment to allow children of all abilities the opportunity to play. The play area will be located within a new area of parkland, which will create an attractive space for recreation.

Potential Allotments

An area of allotments is proposed to be provided as part of the development. It is proposed to locate these near to the Community Hub, to create a greener heart of the development, as well as provide good accessibility. The allotments will be open to use by new and existing residents of the surrounding area.