The Planning Inspectorate has allowed the appeal by Lightwood against the decision of Elmbridge Borough Council Planning Committee to refuse an application for a two storey office building on an underutilised brownfield site in Thames Ditton.
Despite gaining the support of the planning officer and going to committee with a recommendation to approve, it was unanimously refused on the basis that it would fail to enhance the street scene and would result in a form of development out of keeping with and detrimental to the character and appearance of the area.
The subservient and considered proposal was recognised by the Inspector as being “sympathetic to the local area… and would add positive visual interest”.
Lightwood has now secured a resolution to grant outline planning permission on land at Staplegrove Farm in Taunton. Whilst the land was not originally included in the urban extension North of Taunton, through working with Taunton Deane officers and informing the masterplan process, it was allocated as part of the wider North Taunton Urban Extension (NTUE) through Taunton Deane Site Allocations and Development Management Plan.
The NTUE consists of 1628 houses of which 15% are affordable homes and includes a primary school, 2 hectares of employment land, a local centre and the delivery of a spine road all set in a scheme that has been landscape and ecologically led from the outset. The scheme will not only deliver much needed housing among vast green open spaces but also improve the habitats for the European Protected Species that are on site which include the Lesser Horseshoe Bat, Dormice and Great Crested Newts.
Lightwood Group Director, Phil Chichester was invited by Bosch to speak at their transforMOTION exhibition held at Somerset House on the 8th September.
The panel discussion on the ’Future of Mobility in Cities’ explored the difficulties and practicalities of implementing new transport solutions and the policy vacuum caused by a the current planning system.
By 2050, more than six billion people will be living in megacities, with urban traffic tripling. The need for new safe, stress free and sustainable ways of moving around to maintain our quality of life has never been greater. The transforMOTION event showcased a variety of innovative solutions that use automated and connected technologies to demonstrate what the future of mobility will look like.
The British Open Masters Squash Championships is the oldest and most established tournament in the game of squash. It is widely considered to be one of the two most prestigious tournaments in the game, alongside the World Masters.
This years’ squash British Open Masters was staged at Colets Health & Fitness Club, with Lightwood as tournament sponsor. The event which ran from 6th to 11th June showcased 313 players competing from 15 different countries in several different categories.
Lightwood is already proud sponsors of the Colets Squash team who were crowned National Squash Club Champions 2017 at the Championship Finals, held at the Edgbaston Priory Club in April, and who have just returned from the European Club Championships 2017, held in Paderborn Germany where they finished in 4th place.
Lightwood has submitted applications for 158 units across 2 sites on the edge of settlement at Stalbridge. The sites comprise a total of approximately 22.4 acres and the application seek to enhance and integrate with the existing pattern of development and make provision for a generous amount of open space (11.2 acres) for use by the public and local community.
Lightwood had until recently been promoting both sites under the local plan review, liaising with the District and Town Councils. However, the progression of a speculative large-scale residential scheme to application stage in Stalbridge has required the progression to application to be advanced.
Today Hart Draft Local Plan 2011 – 2032 has been released for consultation between 26 April until 5pm on June 9th.
We are pleased that Murrell Green has been chosen as the location for a New Settlement in Hart.
Lightwood were aware that a New Settlement had been promoted in a village known as Winchfield by a housebuilder for a number of years. The proposed scheme had received considerable local opposition due to the effect it would have on landscape , listed buildings and a Special Site of Scientific Interest.
Lightwood decided to carry out an area wide Landscape Visual Impact Appraisal to find out if any locations in the area would have less visual impact with better local transport connections. Murrell Green was the result.
The New Settlement at Murrell Green is located between Hook and Hartley Wintney with access provided South of the A30. There will be green open spaces either side of the new settlement to stop coalescence, linking in with Bassett’s Mead Country Park to the West. There is already a number of public paths throughout the location linking the green areas and on to Winchfield train station.
Over the last few years secondary school provision in Hart has been under pressure. Secondary schools have been extended with further extensions planned in the near future. There is now limited areas for secondary school growth. As part of the criteria for the New Settlement we looked at the provision of a site for a new secondary school. Due to the central location and local accessibility Murrell Green is the right location. A primary school and early years provision will also be included.
Lightwood look forward to working with the community in the future moulding the New Settlement.
Earlier today the government announced new plans to develop a garden village on land to the east of Cullompton in Devon. Culm Garden Village is being developed by Lightwood on behalf of the landowners and is the result of close consultation with Mid Devon District Council, the local council and the Cullompton community.
Lightwood Director, James Turner said, ‘Culm Garden Village presents a locally led, feasible and deliverable garden village. We have worked with all the key stakeholders to create an opportunity to deliver much needed road infrastructure along with homes and jobs. Lightwood will continue to work with Mid Devon District Council and the local community to design a place that reflects the location and needs of the people of Cullompton and wider communities’
Culm Garden Village will be located to the east of Junction 28 off the M5 which offers excellent transport links and is within commuting distance of Taunton and Exeter.With support from local Cullompton residents, the proposal includes the reopening of Cullompton railway station just 1 mile away and assists in the delivery of the new Devon Metro service running from Wellington to Exeter.
The location in Mid Devon is a prime growth area and will deliver 2,100 homes by 2033, rising to 2,600 as the village matures. The village will include starter homes, affordable housing, schools, shops, commercial space and a significant area of open space along with a sports hub.
Councillor Richard Chesterton, Mid Devon Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration said ‘This is good news for Cullompton. Mid Devon District Council’s proposal for a garden village recognises the ambition within the community to improve the local environment and will allow comprehensive planning for quality new homes whilst also helping to address some of the most challenging environmental issues in the Cullompton area. The District Council looks forward to working with Lightwood and the local community over this exciting project’.
Lightwood Land is working with multiple landowners and is now promoting over 300 acres of predominantly farming land on their behalf. Lightwood has been working with the local authority to deliver their vision for the area.
Such large-scale development enables significant improvements to local infrastructure, transport and community facilities including; new primary and secondary schools, swimming pool, civic space, countryside park, significant motorway improvements, community open space and children’s play facilities.
This project provides an exciting opportunity to be involved in the shaping of future communities.
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Greg Clark, has decided to grant planning permission for 280 units in Haddenham Glebe, following the High Court’s landmark ruling to quash a neighbourhood housing plan.
Mr Clark’s predecessor Sir Eric Pickles called Lightwood’s application in shortly after Aylesbury Vale District Council’s (AVDC) decision to grant planning, citing that he wished to review the application’s consistency with the Council’s development plan and the Haddenham Neighbourhood Plan, which had only been submitted – in draft form – 24 hours before the planning application was approved by the local authority.
Very serious concerns about the viability of the Haddenham Neighbourhood Plan were brought to light at the Public Inquiry into Lightwood’s application in November 2015, which led to Lightwood seeking to challenge it in the High Court. In the week before the case was due to be considered, AVDC and Haddenham Parish Council withdrew their defence, leading to the landmark decision by the High Court to quash the Haddenham Neighbourhood Plan’s housing policies – the first decision of its kind in the country.
In addition to providing 280 new homes, and helping to meet the District’s requirement for 1,000 new homes in Haddenham over the next four years, Lightwood’s Haddenham Glebe application provides 35% affordable homes (in excess of the policy requirement of 30%), with priority given to local families, 35 retirement properties and a range of community benefits, including nearly 11 hectares of open space, funding for bus services and a much-needed new burial ground.
Philip Chichester MRTPI, of Lightwood Strategic, said:
“We believe that Neighbourhood Plans can be very successful as long as the checks and balances are properly adjudicated, otherwise poorly managed or manipulated neighbourhood plans will soon ruin the reputation and concept of Neighbourhood Planning in its entirety”.
Greg Clark issued a decision letter this week that granted outline consent to Lightwood Strategic’s scheme in Haddenham. The letter stated that,
“The Secretary of State agrees with the Inspector’s conclusion that the scheme offers not only an appreciable and rapid improvement in housing provision in Haddenham and Aylesbury Vale, but also substantial advantages to the community in terms of affordable housing and housing for the elderly as well as a burial ground, sporting facilities and open space.”
18 months after this scheme originally had a resolution to grant planning permission from Aylesbury Council planning permission is now confirmed. Lightwood was able to supervise this scheme through the call in process to ensure much needed housing was brought to Haddenham.
Philip Chichester MRTPI, of Lightwood Strategic, said:
“We are delighted that Greg Clark, having weighed up the merits of the scheme against a small, but vocal cohort of objectors, has resolved to grant permission for these much-needed homes for Haddenham. We look forward to working with Aylesbury Vale District Council, who it should be remembered have supported this planning application all along, to deliver this important scheme.”
James Sorrentino of Lightwood Strategic added:
“This decision sends a clear message that poor neighbourhood planning should not hinder the delivery of much needed housing in suitable locations. It is absolutely right that local communities should have a greater role to play – in partnership with local authorities, landowners and developers – in delivering robust and forward thinking neighbourhood plans. It is only by working together, that we will all be able to address the national housing crisis.”
