Community Benefits

Land at Woolwell - update newsletter - December 2020

Following the submission of the applications Community benefits in January 2020, Barwood Land has been working closely with South Hams District 2,000 new homes, a mix of tenures, Council (SHDC) and Devon County Council types and sizes providing opportunities (DCC) to review, discuss and respond to for those looking for their first home or to downsize, as well as the potential for comments received during the statutory housing for ex-service personnel. consultation process. Over 55% of the site (50 hectare / We have just submitted to SHDC a further 156 acres) retained for green open submission, which provides responses and space including a community park, new clarifications to matters raised by stakeholders, sports pitches, children’s play areas and including the local community during the other informal green spaces. consultation. This is a complete and final A network of footpaths and cycle submission on all technical and design matters, ways, including the repurposing of with the exception of those relating to highway the former tramway to be a car-free design and capacity. pedestrian and cycle route connecting all parts of the site, providing attractive, We know how important the highways issues safe routes for all users. are to the local community including the need to have confirmation on the appropriate package Significantly improved ecological habitats and timing of measures that are needed. As such, and biodiversity gain across the site which will allow wildlife to continue to it is important that we provide a comprehensive prosper. update and response to key issues that have been raised. We are continuing to engage with the local A new local centre with space for a highway authority (DCC) and Highways England variety of community, retail and leisure and will provide a full response as soon as we are uses as well as the opportunity to invest in improvements to existing community able to in the new year. facilities. Further detailed information on what is covered A site for a new two form entry by our recently submitted technical and design primary school. matters response can be found on SHDC planning search portal - http://apps.southhams.gov. 128 direct full-time equivalent jobs uk/planningsearchmvc - using application created during construction with numbers 4181/19/OPA & 4185/19/OPA. further permanent jobs created in the local centre uses such as the school and We expect all of our documentation to be retail.

available to view on the SHDC’s planning portal £ £ Approximately £5.7 million of additional by Tuesday, 15th December. £ business rates generated per year.

www.landatwoolwell.co.uk What we have submitted Our recent submission includes a suite of documents which provide responses to comments received during SHDC’s consultation on the applications earlier this year, focussing on matters relating to ecology, drainage and design. The Design and Access Statements and Allocation-Wide Design Code have been updated and these are also included with the submission.

Below are a few examples of the types of amendments that have been made during our work over the last year:

Further information and clarifications to queries raised by SHDC’s Ecology Officer, including to demonstrate that the proposed retained, new and improved habitats on site will result in a 50% improvement in the site’s biodiversity compared with today which is well above the 10% improvement sought in Joint Local Plan.

Replaced an area shown as woodland in south west of the site, following discussions with SHDC’s Ecology Officer, with an area of short and hardy grasses (calcareous grassland) which is a habitat that is better suited to encouraging insects, including butterflies, to thrive.

Further consideration has been given to how to maximise the benefits and future use of both existing and new community facilities. On-site, this includes moving a proposed children’s play area to be closer to the new local centre, where the new primary school, local centre and sports pitches are proposed.

Clarified that, whilst we have proposed three-storey buildings, they will not be used extensively across the site. Rather, any three-storey buildings proposed at the detailed design stage will be used only where it is guided by sound urban design and place-making principles set out in the Area-Wide Design Code, such as for landmark buildings or as ‘waymarkers’.

Do you have ideas on how your local community facilities could be improved?

As part of our commitment to encouraging integration and ensuring there is one, cohesive community, we are in discussions with SHDC officers, local councillors, and other stakeholders, to explore the potential to make a financial contribution towards a scheme, or schemes, that will further improve existing community facilities in the immediate vicinity of the site such as the Woolwell Centre and Roborough Hall, rather than having a community hall on-site.

If you have ideas on ways your community facilities could be improved, let us know by emailing [email protected] or calling 0800 148 8911

Planning timeline – what happens next?

Further formal SHDC Planning Statutory consultation Statutory consultation Meetings with SHDC First formal response Further engagement Applications submitted submission to SHDC, committee period concludes and DCC submitted with officers if required determination

January 2020 Feb/March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 – December 2020 December 2020 – Winter 2021 Currently anticipated October 2020 onwards Summer 2021 Creating a high-quality place Our application includes a suite of design documents: y Design and Access Statement (DAS) y Parameter Plans and y Allocation-Wide Design Code These will set the blueprint for Land at Woolwell and once approved, will provide a robust and enforceable tool that SHDC can use to ensure a high-quality design that is appropriate for this location. A development of this size will be delivered over many years, so it is important that time is taken at this stage to ensure that everything in these documents is unambiguous. The suite of design documents will be a robust tool that will ensure all phases of development across the allocation will deliver a high-quality and consistent design approach, regardless of who delivers each phase and when those are delivered. Planning is a collaborative process and SHDC officers and Barwood Land have been engaging closely over the last 12 months. The amendments made following this consultation process, and included in our recently submitted response, have further bolstered the design documentation, helping to ensure it delivers good quality design and placemaking specific to this unique local context.

The Area-Wide Design Code (AWDC) sets out three character areas. Below are example precedent images which seek to give an idea of the types of built form that will feature in each character area. More examples can be found in the AWDC which can be found on our website.

Parkland edge Central core Woodland edge

Design quality - Next steps To give the Council even more control over the design quality, following an outline approval, the Council has to then approve: 1. A phasing plan for the site, which will show the broad principles for how the development is anticipated to be phased and delivered over the next 10-15 years. 2. A Neighbourhood Design Code for each phase of development, which must comply with the design instructions set out in the AWDC; 3. Reserved Matters approvals for the detailed design for each phase or sub-phase. These will have to be submitted to, consulted on with the public and statutory consultees and approved by SHDC prior to any development commencing.

January 2020 Feb/March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 – December 2020 December 2020 – Winter 2021 Currently anticipated October 2020 onwards Summer 2021 Land at Woolwell - update newsletter - December 2020

Statutory consultee responses We are pleased that a number of statutory consultees have raised no objection to our applications, subject to appropriate planning conditions and/or Section 106 legal obligations, with a number of helpful comments that we have taken into account and responded to within our recent submission. This includes:

9 Police - Designing Out Crime Officers 9 Devon County Education 9 Tamar Valley AONB 9 Environment Agency 9 Western Power 9 Devon County Public Health 9 Historic England 9 Devon County Waste 9 SHDC Open Space, Sports and Recreation 9 Forestry Commission 9 Devon County Historic Environment 9 Devon County Public Rights of Way 9 NHS Devon 9 Devon County Flood Risk 9 South West Water

Engagement continues with the below statutory consultees and we look forward to submitting our formal response to the topics discussed in due course.

y Devon County Highways y Highways England y Natural England

What happens next?

We will be continuing to engage with officers and Get in touch statutory consultees over the coming months, including in relation to highway matters. Email us at: We will continue to keep you up to date, [email protected] via newsletters and our website - www.landatwoolwell.co.uk Write to us at FREEPOST, MPC Consultation We welcome any queries and comments you have and please get in touch with us at any time using Call us on: 0800 148 8911 the details below.