Affordable housing
Phase 1 of the Cricketer Farm development will provide 16 affordable homes, that are to released with priority to residents of Nether Stowey or people with close connections to the village. These consist of 2 and 3 bed properties. The affordable homes in Phase 1 are being provided as follows: 6 x 2-bedroom flats; 6 x 2-bedroom houses; and 4 x 3-bedroom houses.
Strongvox is delighted to announce that the first of these new affordable homes will be available from summer 2023. If you are interested in reserving one of these properties or know someone who may be, further details can be found via the Parish Council’s website: https://netherstowey-pc.gov.uk/affordable-homes-coming-soon-to-cricketer-farm/.
Our proposals for this site include a further 23 new affordable homes (across a range of tenures and range between 1-4 bedrooms). As with the Phase 1 affordable homes these are proposed to be offered with priority being given to local people. Further details on the design and location of these homes in this proposal will form part of our planning application. The homes are being provided to meet an identified need in the recently updated Affordable Housing Needs Survey for Nether Stowey (February 2023). The proposal will be submitted on the basis of the Sedgemoor Local Plan Policy T2b which seeks the provision of 40% affordable homes where there is a local identified need. Strongvox has consulted with Somerset Council who have stipulated the following need (to be provided in our forthcoming planning application):
Social Rent x 17
8 x 1 bed
3 x 2 bed
4 x 3 bed
2 x 4 bed
Shared Ownership x 6
4 x 2 bed
2 x 3 bed
These new affordable homes will be distributed across the proposed development and further detail on their locations will be included within our forthcoming planning application.
Pedestrian and vehicle access
The proposed development will be accessed from the public highway via the new signalised junction with the A39 Cannington Road and St Mary Street and through our Phase 1 development. The junction has appropriate capacity to serve the additional traffic forecast to be generated by the proposed Phase 2 development.
The internal site layout has been designed with consideration to local and national highway design guidance. A new network of pedestrian infrastructure, including footways and leisure footpaths are proposed to link the proposal to our Phase 1 development to the south and existing Public Rights of Way to the south and east of the site.
A Transport Assessment will be submitted as part of the planning application which provides a full summary of the development proposals in transport terms, including the sites relative accessibility with reference to local walking, cycling and public transport infrastructure and the fact that there is a mix of everyday services, facilities, amenities and public transport opportunities which are located within a two kilometre walking distance or an eight kilometre cycle distance from the centre of the site. It will also include a review of local highway safety and junction modelling at the site access based on the forecast traffic generation and distribution of trips and will confirm that appropriate car and cycle parking provision is provided with reference to Somerset Council guidance thresholds.
The Transport Assessment will include swept path analysis of the internal layout for refuse vehicles and fire appliances.
A Framework Residential Travel Plan will also be included within the planning application submission which demonstrates initial concepts of how single occupancy vehicle use by future users of the scheme will be minimised. The Travel Plan has been produced with reference to the Somerset Council Travel Plan Supplementary Planning Document (2010) and will form the basis of a Full Travel Plan for the development in due course.
Landscape considerations
The proposed masterplan has been designed to maintain key views of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and from key vantage points around the village and surrounding area. The proposed new homes will be built using a palette of materials and landscape treatments that reflect those used in the first phase of development. The proposal is designed to transition from the more urban form of Phase 1 to a low density rural edge to the north – with a combination of small hard surfaced urban squares to the south and larger open public open spaces with pathways to the north. The proposal includes a further equipped play area to complement those areas for play that are already planned in Phase 1.
A number of new trees and green features are proposed for the site, to protect long distance views in the wider area. The following sketch provides an overview of the proposed landscape features and how they combine to create a varied and multifunctional landscape and public realm which responds to context, landscape character and the requirements in terms of landscape and ecology.
Proposed landscape features - click to enlarge
Ecology
Cricketer Farm was previously a cheese factory with a variety of buildings onsite, including modern and traditional built structures. Following a full suite of ecological surveys, bats were found in a number of buildings onsite, including the rare Greater Horseshoe bat. To facilitate the development and ensure the long term viability of the local bat population, our Phase 1 development has been designed to ensure that functional habitat for bats is provided as well as newly constructed roosting opportunities. In addition to numerous bird and bat boxes on new buildings and below tree canopies, a major standalone bat house was designed and built to house Greater Horseshoe bats and other species onsite, with good connectivity to the wider landscape via hedgerows. This bat house was first found to be in use by bats in July 2021, where droppings have been recorded. These are indicative of Greater Horseshoe bats and demonstrates a successful approach to retaining wildlife around the site. Other improvements will include the planting of new hedgerows and wildflower rich grassland.
Our Phase 2 proposal will continue with a strong ecological input through the design of the site, with good functioning habitats at the boundaries and new habitats to be created including hedgerows and ponds.
Bat house built in Phase 1 - click to enlarge
Drainage
The planning application will be supported by a full drainage strategy that will demonstrate that the proposal will not increase the risk of flooding elsewhere and provide a slower run-off rate when compared to the rates at which the current field drains. This is supported by a series of ‘sustainable urban drainage systems’ in the form of open ponds to help slow the discharge of water from the site and clean water run off through a system of drainage basins with reed planting for wildlife benefits.