New neighbourhood scheme granted

A landmark new neighbourhood north of Yate, in South Gloucestershire, consisting of 3,000 new homes in total has been given the go ahead by the Local Planning Authority.

LDA Design prepared a masterplan for 2,400 of the homes and also undertook the environmental impact and landscape visual impact assessments.

The scheme will create a mixed use development with residential areas and 5 Ha of employment land set around a new local centre with shops and a pub, two primary schools, a mixed-use community centre with a police post, sports facilities, informal open space, allotments and play areas. 35% of the new homes will be affordable and will include ExtraCare units, supporting independent living for older people with special care needs.

The scheme will also preserve and enhance the site’s ecological characteristics and will include a woodland area based on existing trees, a recreational loop following an existing green lane, and a new meadow landscape area incorporating the site’s existing watercourses and floodplain.

The masterplan was informed by a series of public consultation events, continued discussions with South Gloucestershire Council, as well as the environmental impact assessment (EIA). LDA Design coordinated the EIA which influenced the scheme design in a number of ways, including transportation, flood risk, ecology, landscape and visual effects, and noise.   

Bernie Foulkes, Partner at LDA Design, said: “This scheme is a key element in South Gloucestershire’s long-term development plans and will help to deliver many of the new homes, jobs and community facilities and infrastructure the district will need in the coming years.”

Outline planning permission was granted subject to a detailed ‘Section 106’ agreement between developer Heron Land Developments and the council, which will see investment of approximately £20m in local services, amenities and infrastructure.

The site north of Brimsham Park will make up the main part of the 3,000-home North Yate ‘new neighbourhood’ allocated within South Gloucestershire’s adopted Core Strategy.

Its 2,450 new homes will be completed in phases, with initial work set to being on site in the 2014/15 financial year.