Manydown Masterplan and Outline Planning Application
Collaborative design for a New Garden Community
Plans for Manydown, a new garden community bordering the western side of Basingstoke creating 3,520 new homes and forming one of the largest residential-led developments in the south east on land in public ownership, have been given the go ahead by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council. The project is part of the Government’s Garden Communities programme, announced in 2018 to provide up to 64,000 much-needed homes across England.
- Project Deliverables:
- Masterplan and Outline planning permission
- Client:
- Hampshire County Council and Basingstoke Borough Council
- Collaborators:
- CampbellReith
- Location:
- Baskingstoke, Hampshire
- Status:
- Outline planning consent secured
Growth needs to help ensure that existing residents have better access to the countryside and to new and improved facilities.
Over the next 20+ years Basingstoke will continue to grow and this growth needs to ensure that the town remains attractive, competitive, sustainable and effective.
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and Hampshire County Council are the land owners of key sites to the west of the town, and – in promoting this land for development – are in a unique position to help ensure that this growth is of the highest quality and provides facilities and social infrastructure that the new and existing population need. At the same time, this growth needs to help ensure that existing residents have better access to the countryside and to new and improved facilities.
The masterplan is based around the TCPA’s Garden Settlement principles and will not be an isolated development, but designed to become an integral part of the wider town and contain all elements that make neighbourhoods liveable.
Delivering the Garden Community through planning
Our work contribute towards the delivery of Manydown through in the following stages:
- Supporting site allocation and Local Plan through the definition and testing of deliverable options;
- High level masterplanning and collaboration with the local Planning Authority to inform the adopted Development Brief and infrastructure plan for the site; and
- Delivering an outline planning consent for up to 3,200 homes.
Site allocation and Local Plan
Initially, Tibbalds were appointed by Hampshire County Council to produce a site capacity and initial options masterplanning exercise to help support the process of securing the allocation of the site through the Local Plan review.
The initial conclusions of this report are that the land to the west of Basingstoke at Manydown could realistically support and deliver between 2500 and 3200 new homes within the Local Plan period to 2029, and could then go on to form part of a larger expansion of around 6000 new homes over the next 30-50 years.
The study considers deliverability and phasing of the development and the potential to deliver the homes in a way that allows managed organic growth over a number of years, and mitigates the impact of new homes on existing residents.
A Local Vision
The masterplan was the result of extensive local engagement, combines the best features from Hampshire villages and towns with contemporary sustainable design based on garden town principles.
In addition to new homes, the plans include space for new businesses, shops, community facilities, two primary schools and a secondary school. A number of parks, including a 250-acre (100-hectare) country park, as well as play facilities, sports pitches and allotments will additionally form part of the new community.
The Manydown masterplan learns from the historic villages and towns of north Hampshire, and is inspired by their high streets, market squares and village greens while being firmly rooted in the topography, landscape and ecology of this site. It is envisaged as a substantial walkable neighbourhood with strong links to the surrounding areas and most importantly to its town centre.
Manydown centres on walkable neighbourhoods backed up by 10 locally specific principles of good design developed for the site:
1. A place of excellence
2. Shaping Manydown together: engagement and strong partnerships
3. Homes and opportunities for all: a place to start and a place to stay
4. Unique identity: coherence and identity
5. good neighbours: connections, mobility and new possibilities
6. Places and spaces for community life
7. Economic vitality: a place to work as well as to live
8. Greenery everywhere
9. Long-life economics and stewardship
10. Resilience, adaptability and environmental sustainability.
Collaborative design
It was developed through a series of community workshops during 2015 and 2016 that allowed local residents and a broad range of stakeholders to be involved in shaping the masterplan and influencing key decisions around the locations of the new centres, the form of the high street and the arrangement of open spaces that are accessible for all.
Initially, we drew up a list of approximately 70 individuals, groups and organisations who were sent with an invitation to attend a meeting. The feedback received from the meetings was used to shape our approach to engagement, particularly the initial charrette, which we called the Community Design Event.
The collaborative design process kicked off with an intensive engagement period in November 2015, when we set up a marquee on site for a four-day charrette. Over 400 people joined the workshops and discussions. The comments and input from the charrette helped to define initial Masterplan approaches. We designed the Community Design Event (CDE) to enable people to engage in different ways, and we included workshops, an exhibition and drop-ins.
Outline Planning Consent
Tibbalds secured an Outline Planning consent for a residential-led development of 3,200 homes and ancillary uses, such as mixed-use centres, schools and open spaces, of which approximately 100 hectares is to be provided as a Country Park.
Tibbalds managed the multidisciplinary placemaking team across this important strategic planning application for a major allocation and garden town as part of the national programme and supporting public sector led housing delivery.
We have led the planning and masterplanning for 3,500 homes with a focus on quality, sustainability and robustness, setting up a structure and process that will now move through delivery stages with the Councils and their master developer Partner Urban and Civic.
Manydown Masterplan was a finalist at the National Urban Design Awards 2019.
Take a look at the video which formed part of our submission.
Awards
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Shortlisted for Practice Award at the National Urban Design Awards 2019 -
Finalist at the National Urban Design Awards 2019
Core Team
Below are some of the key people that worked on this project.
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Hilary SatchwellDirector -
Katja StilleDirector -
Neil McKennaSenior Planner
Start the conversation...
Learn more about Manydown Masterplan and Outline Planning Application and other projects by contacting one of our team
Call Hilary on 0207 089 2121 or email hilary.satchwell@tibbalds.co.uk