Proud to bring the future of carbon neutral development to Central Bedfordshire

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An exemplar proposal for a new, highly sustainable community


Proud to bring the future of carbon neutral development to Central Bedfordshire

.

An exemplar proposal for a new, highly sustainable community

a green community - approx. 290 acres (120 hectares) of open space


  • 80 acres (32 hectares) of UK Forestry Standard woodland
  • Over 100,000 new trees
  • Net gain to biodiversity
  • Enhancements to Buckle Grove
  • New footpaths and walking routes
  • Substantial green buffer to Barton-le-Clay, ensuring Greenwoods is independent
  • On-site solar park, providing low-cost renewable energy
  • Energy efficient buildings
  • Electric vehicle charging facilities


a community for life - new homes for all ages


  • Houses for first time buyers
  • 40% affordable housing
  • Private rental properties (build to rent)
  • Family housing
  • Serviced self-build and custom housing plots, and opportunities for SME builders
  • Retirement village including bungalows, small apartments, assisted-living and a care home



a self-supported community - with all the necessary facilities


  • New primary schools and secondary school
  • Health centre, to include GPs and dentist services
  • Community buildings
  • Local shop
  • Sports facilities
  • Innovation hub with space for businesses and entrepreneurs and workspaces for local people
  • Creation of over 700 new jobs onsite



a connected community - including highway improvements


  • New dual carriageway section of the A6 from Barton-le-Clay to a new junction with Gravenhurst/Barton Road
  • Dedicated cycle routes
  • Enhanced and additional bridleways and footpaths
  • New public bus service

a green community - approx. 290 acres (120 hectares) of open space


  • 80 acres (32 hectares) of UK Forestry Standard woodland
  • Over 100,000 new trees
  • Net gain to biodiversity
  • Enhancements to Buckle Grove
  • New footpaths and walking routes
  • Substantial green buffer to Barton-le-Clay, ensuring Greenwoods is independent
  • On-site solar park, providing low-cost renewable energy
  • Energy efficient buildings
  • Electric vehicle charging facilities


a community for life - new homes for all ages


  • Houses for first time buyers
  • 30% affordable housing
  • Private rental properties (build to rent)
  • Family housing
  • Serviced self-build and custom housing plots, and opportunities for SME builders
  • Retirement village including bungalows, small apartments, assisted-living and a care home


a self-supported community - with all the necessary facilities


  • New primary school and secondary school
  • Health centre, to include GPs and dentist services
  • Community buildings
  • Local shop
  • Sports facilities
  • Innovation hub with space for businesses and entrepreneurs and workspaces for local people
  • Creation of over 700 new jobs onsite



a connected community - including highway improvements


  • New dual carriageway section of the A6 from Barton-le-Clay to a new junction with Gravenhurst/Barton Road
  • Dedicated cycle routes
  • Enhanced and additional bridleways and footpaths
  • New public bus service


A revised planning application has been submitted for a new settlement in the south of Central Bedfordshire, between Barton-le-Clay and Silsoe. The development will be entirely detached from Barton-le-Clay and new junctions with the A6 will be created to provide entrances.


Illustrative Masterplan of Site


Showing how the new community could be delivered

Layout Plan

Showing how the different elements and uses forming the community will be laid out



New homes for all  – a community for life


3,750 new dwellings


Plus 70-bedroom care home and 80 extra care apartments



The development will provide homes for people of all ages, backgrounds and incomes, including:



First time buyer properties


Large family houses


Affordable rented housing


Private rental properties


Apartments


Self-build plots


Custom build housing


Wheelchair accessible and adaptable homes


Bungalows and apartments for the over 55's


Warden assisted living


Care home




The largest known net zero carbon, zero fossil fuel development in the UK - an exemplar sustainable community

All of the carbon emissions generated by the energy required for heating, cooling, hot water, lights, fans and pumps for the new buildings, will be offset. This will be achieved through:


  • Sustainable construction and building fabric to minimise the energy demand from the buildings – all dwellings will achieve the Future Homes Standard, and all non-residential buildings will achieve BREEAM Excellent standard.


  • A solar park on the site will provide renewable energy – this will be part of a local microgrid which will provide low-cost energy to residents of the development, and mean they will be able to benefit from selling excess energy back to the grid.



  • The new landscaping will act as a carbon sink.


Emissions from the construction of the development and the embodied energy within the buildings themselves will be reduced through timber frame construction and recycled and sustainable materials.


Emissions associated with the energy required to power appliances within the buildings will be offset through rooftop solar PV on the buildings.


Electric vehicle charging will be provided to all homes, with a scheme also in place to enable local energy storage; known as Vehicle to Grid.


A community smartphone app will help people run their homes and businesses sustainably; provide information on public transport services, car clubs and walking and cycling routes; help manage the use of the renewable electricity from the solar park; facilitate and encourage healthy lifestyles; and bring people together as a community.

A solar park on the site will provide renewable energy via a private wire network – this will provide low-cost energy to residents of the development and mean they will be able to benefit from selling excess energy back to the grid.


The new landscaping will act as a carbon sink, helping to offset the carbon from the buildings.



All of the carbon emissions generated by the energy required for heating, cooling, hot water, lights, fans and pumps for the new buildings, will be offset. This will be achieved through:


  • Sustainable construction and building fabric to minimise the energy demand from the buildings – all dwellings will achieve the Future Homes Standard, and all non-residential buildings will achieve BREEAM Excellent standard.


  • A solar park on the site will provide renewable energy – this will be part of a local microgrid which will provide low-cost energy to residents of the development, and mean they will be able to benefit from selling excess energy back to the grid.


  • The new landscaping will act as a carbon sink.




Emissions from the construction of the development and the embodied energy within the buildings themselves will be reduced through timber frame construction and recycled and sustainable materials.


Emissions associated with the energy required to power appliances within the buildings will be offset through rooftop solar PV on the buildings.


Electric vehicle charging will be provided to all homes, with a scheme also in place to enable local energy storage; known as Vehicle to Grid.


A community smartphone app will help people run their homes and businesses sustainably; provide information on public transport services, car clubs and walking and cycling routes; help manage the use of the renewable electricity from the solar park; facilitate and encourage healthy lifestyles; and bring people together as a community.


Approximately 290 acres of landscaped open space – a green community



This development is unique with new homes nestled amongst landscaped open spaces, including:



A new woodland of 100,000 trees


A linear park along the Barton Brook


Children’s play spaces


Allotments


Sports pitches


A wildflower meadow


A biodiversity improvement area reserved for nature


New walking and cycling routes, and upgrades to existing public footpaths and bridleways



Existing woodland, trees and hedgerows will be retained and incorporated into the new green spaces.


Buckle Grove will remain a local green space, and a management plan has been prepared to enhance and protect its ancient woodland status.


The proposals will achieve a significant net gain in biodiversity.

All the necessary facilities – a self-supported community



The development will include all of the infrastructure required to support new residents, ensuring that there will be no pressure on existing facilities and providing additional opportunities for residents in surrounding areas too, including:



New all-through school encompassing nursery provision, primary school, secondary school and sixth form facilities, which will be delivered within the early phases of the development


Additional primary school to come forward later in the development, so that all children within the development will have easy access to a school within the site


Health centre, with GPs and dentist services


Community halls


Local shop


Innovation hub with space for businesses and entrepreneurs and workspaces for local people



New and improved transport routes - a connected community



New dualled section of the A6


Upgrades to Gravenhurst / Barton Road, with retained access to existing properties


New public bus route to start at the site and connect to Luton


Retention of existing footpaths and bridleways, with small diversion to BW18 and upgrade of FP16 to bridleway


Additional footpaths, cycle routes and bridleways


Electric vehicle charging station open to the public



FAQs

  • What stage in the planning process is this?

    A planning application for outline planning permission has been submitted to Central Bedfordshire Council (ref. CB/22/01804/OUT). An outline planning application establishes the overall amount of development and broad principles for where this will be located on the site – it does not provide details relating to individual buildings.


    If outline planning permission is granted, it is likely that the Council will require a Design Code to be prepared to guide the detailed design of the development – it will provide more detail about what buildings, roads and open spaces will look like.


    An outline planning permission would need to be followed by Reserved Matters applications – these applications will provide all the details of each development parcel, including the appearance of each building, and would need to be approved before construction on that parcel can begin.

  • What has been done since the previous application?

    Since the withdrawal of the previous application a number of changes to the development proposals have been made, including:


    • Additional school provision
    • Additional community and health care floorspace
    • Additional employment opportunities on site
    • Changes to mix of later living provision
    • Additional sustainability measures including electric vehicle charging
    • Amendments to ensure development is outside of flood zones and odour zones

    In addition, the project team has undertaken a significant amount of additional survey work, evidence gathering and technical assessment including ecology surveys, archaeological investigation, watercourse modelling and traffic modelling.

  • Why is this needed, and why does it need to go here?

    We believe that there is a need for additional housing beyond that which is set out in Central Bedfordshire Council’s adopted Local Plan. Greenwoods offers a highly sustainable option to assist the Council in meeting these additional housing needs. Being close to Luton, new homes here would also contribute to the wider housing market.


    The site is in a big enough area to accommodate a new settlement and remain separate from existing villages.


    Building a new settlement will mean that there won’t need to be lots of smaller developments adding on to existing villages. It also means that we can provide all the infrastructure with it, rather than relying on existing services which we know are already strained, and provide lots of other benefits such as all the attractive open spaces.

  • What will the buildings look like?

    At this stage, individual buildings haven’t been designed – this will be done at a later date and the Council will need to approve details as part of Reserved Matters applications.


    The application sets out a number of parameters to control the scale and amout of development.

  • When will construction start?

    Subject to the grant of planning permission, it is hoped that construction will start in 2024, and that the development would be complete by 2038.

  • Will the A6 have to be closed during construction?

    We will work closely with the Council’s highways team to ensure minimal disruption to existing roads during construction.

  • What steps will be taken to prevent impacts of construction for local residents?

    Management plans will be put in place to help reduce the impact of the building works on local residents.


    We hope to remain in dialogue with local residents throughout the construction phase and will provide contact details so that you can report any problems during the works which can then be actioned swiftly.

  • How will Public Rights of Way be affected?

    All existing Public Rights of Way (PRoWs) will be retained. It is proposed that there will be a small diversion to bridleway BW18 and upgrade of footpath FP16 to bridleway. If planning permission is granted, the appropriate legal process will be followed, in consultation with the Council, for the changes to these PRoWs, which will include further public consultation.


    New PRoWs are proposed as part of the application to provide additional routes and connections through the site and to the surrounding countryside.


    PRoWs will remain open during construction as much as possible. If temporary closures are required for health and safety, the appropriate legal process will be followed, in consultation with the Council.

  • Is anything happening to the sewage works?

    There should be no impact to the local sewage network as a result of the development. We are not proposing to connect the development to the existing sewage works within the site; we are making arrangements with Anglian Water for the sewage from the development to be accommodated elsewhere, where there is capacity within the network. No expansion to the existing sewage works within the site is proposed.

  • There are already some buildings along Gravenhurst / Barton Road – what will happen to them?

    These properties will be untouched by the development. Access from Gravenhurst / Barton Road will be retained.

  • Who can I contact if I want to buy a house?

    It is still very early in the process for any sales of the new homes so there is no contact at this stage.

Application



Last year a planning application was submitted to Central Bedfordshire Council. Following consultation, the decision was taken to withdraw the application so that revisions could be made and additional assessment work undertaken in response to the comments received.

 

An improved submission has now been made. The Council’s application reference is CB/22/01804/OUT, and the application documents and other information can be found here.

Consultation


For those who were not able to attend the public exhibition events in March 2022, our presentation boards are available below. If you would like to provide any feedback on the proposals direct to the applicant, please use the comment box at the bottom of the page. 


The Council are undertaking statutory consultation on the planning application. Comments can be submitted to the Council by clicking here.


We intend to continue providing updates to local residents and stakeholders, including via this website, and undertake further consultation throughout the development process. This will include input into a Development Brief, in line with the Council’s policy requirements, and into Reserved Matters applications.

Consultation Boards

Welcome

Feedback


All comments on the planning application must be submitted to the Council for consideration in the determination of the application. Any comments submitted via the box below will not be taken into account by the Council. Comments can be submitted to the Council by clicking here.

 

If you would like to provide any feedback on the proposals direct to the applicant, please use the comment box below. These will be considered as part of our ongoing work on the development proposals.