WELCOME Welcome to this public consultation event for our proposed residential development of 56 high quality homes on land to the north east of Station Road in Earls Colne. Thank you for taking the time to come along today. This event is your chance to have a say and help inform the design of our proposed development before we submit the plans to Braintree District Council. Representatives from Homes and our specialist consultants are here today and will be happy to discuss our proposals with you and answer any questions. A selection of typical homes About Homes Homes is a premium home builder, providing high quality homes in desirable areas of Southern England, the Midlands and Scotland. differs from other homebuilders by focusing on delivering premium quality, well designed, sustainable homes and communities in prime locations. adopts a consultative approach to design and planning activities that engages local communities, interest groups and Local Authorities. The award-winning homebuilder was crowned Medium Housebuilder of the Year at the Housebuilder Awards in 2016 and recognised in the Best Large Housebuilder at the What House? Awards 2017. On average over the past eight years, 93% of customers have been willing to recommend them to a friend in the Home Builders Federation National New Homes customer satisfaction survey.
ABOUT THE SITE The 4.45 hectare site is located on the northern side of the village, and is adjacent to Station Road and Colne Valley Golf Club. Homes acquired the site in December 2017 and the site benefits from outline planning permission for residential development for up to 56 dwellings, which was granted by Braintree District Council in August 2016. The principle of developing the site with housing is therefore established and we are now preparing our Reserved Matters application in respect of layout, scale, appearance and landscaping details. The land historically formed part of the grounds of Colne House to the west. It currently comprises two fields kept as roughly mown grass and which are largely divided by a solid hedge through the centre of the site. The application site is bounded by the Colne Valley Golf Course to the north with the clubhouse and car park adjoining the application site to the north west. There is a tree belt which straddles the northern boundary with trees standing both within the application site and on the golf course land immediately adjoining the site. To the south of the application site is a mews of bungalows in Tillwicks Close and on the eastern side of the site is Homefield Way, which was built in the late 1980s. This development contains a mix of terraced, semi-detached and detached houses. Aerial site location plan
OUR PROPOSAL Homes is proposing a scheme of 56 high quality new homes on the site, including 22 affordable properties. The development will provide a range of house types to accommodate all home buyers, in the following mix: 8 x 2 bedroom apartments 10 x 2 bedroom homes 17 x 4 bedroom homes 8 x 5 bedroom homes 13 x 3 bedroom homes Site layout plan A number of community benefits will be delivered as part of s application, which include: Delivery of 40% affordable housing, in accordance with levels required by Braintree District Council, offering residents a genuine opportunity to gain access to the housing market Just under a hectare of land gifted to the Parish Council for use as public open space Formalised footpath link from the east of the site to Homefield Way Contribution towards local community services and facilities
DESIGN Homes is renowned for creating high quality properties that enhance the areas in which they are located. We have a strong track record of sensitive development in village locations. The homes will be designed to reflect the style of existing buildings within the village and complement their surroundings, using a high quality palette of materials including orange and red stock bricks, buff bricks and red and grey roof tiles. The proposed homes will be formed of apartments, detached or semi-detached properties, across two storeys, and will include rear gardens, providing space for families to use and enjoy. The design of the homes will be traditional in nature and in keeping with the architecture of existing buildings within the locality. housetype The Taymore with red bricks The proposed landscaping will maintain and enhance existing foliage along all boundaries. The use of native shrubs will be proposed to aid visual blending of the site into the existing landscape and help soften views of the site from the surrounding area. To the south of the development, Homes has allocated just under a hectare of land, which will be gifted to Earls Colne Parish Council for use as public open space. This will enable formalised access to the general public and create a link through to Station Road.
OPPORTUNITIES &CONSTRAINTS Constraints and opportunities plan The site s opportunities and constraints have been clearly identified: Opportunities: High quality housing to respect character of local area 22 affordable homes to meet needs of the community Improved existing pedestrian permeability through the site onto Homefield Way Enhanced vegetation where exposed to provide nature buffer along boundaries Proposed attenuation pond north of site to improve existing natural surface water drainage Constraints: Existing access point into the site from Station Road to be improved Respect outlook from existing properties along Homefield Way and Tillwicks Close Sloping topography from south down towards North of the site Existing green corridor and mature hedging to boundaries to be maintained Existing mature trees north of the site to be retained to provide natural screening from Golf Course
DRAINAGE The drainage system will be designed in accordance with the requirements of Essex County Council s Flood and Water Team who are the Lead Local Flood Authority for the area and in accordance within the National Planning Policy Framework. An example of an attenuation pond at a development has developed a surface water drainage strategy for the site to ensure there is no increased risk of flooding elsewhere as a result of development. The principles are as follows: The use of sustainable drainage systems, principally permeable paving, to the access roads which will help to slow flows within the site Limiting the peak run off rate from the site. An attenuation storage tank has been proposed to store the difference in flows Clear maintenance proposals will be provided for all the proposed drainage features, including a maintenance schedule A management company will be set up to provide the required maintenance at intervals as dictated by the SuDS (sustainable drainage systems) Manual 2015
HIGHWAYS As per the consent access will be created in to the site via Station Road, utilising the existing private road serving Colne Valley Golf Club. Any internal roads required within the site itself would be designed to current highway standards. There will be ample parking provided on site for residents in the form of on plot parking, private drives and garages, as well as visitor parking. Proposed parking allocation and highways plan
NEXT STEPS Thank you for taking the time to attend today s event. s proposal is for a premium development of a high quality and considerate design that complies with the outline planning consent already granted for the site and with local planning policy. It has also been sensitively designed to be in keeping with the existing character of the surrounding area. We would welcome any thoughts on the proposed scheme and all comments received today and following this event will be taken into account as we continue to prepare our Reserved Matters planning application. You can leave feedback today by completing one of the forms available. Alternatively, you can comment online at www.cala.co.uk/earlscolne Thank you. A selection of typical homes