Land East of Houghton Park Road: Stage 2 Public Consultation
June 2022, News Item
Homes England has announced the second stage of consultation for a development of new homes on land east of Houghton Park Road, Houghton Regis.
The organisation are distributing a letter to nearby homes, inviting the public to a meeting on 16 June 2022. Over 350 new homes may be built on the site subject to a planning application and planning permission.
With previous planning applications on this site, there had been, especially, public concern over access to the site which may have been via Houghton Park Road and Conquest Road. Previous developers had suggested mitigating measures for Conquest Road such as creating footways where there are none and creating more off-street parking by take-over of grassed amenity areas. All those earlier plans are now dropped, and a new development proposal is being worked up and brought forward through Homes England.
A consultation stage 1 by Home England took place earlier and the organisation has now captured public concerns over design and access.
A consultation Stage 2 event is now to be held this summer.
The afternoon session will be between 12:30pm and 3:00pm and the evening session will be 4:40pm until 7:00pm.”
The leaflet then goes on to say, "We hope that as many of you as possible will come along to the sessions so that the design process can be iterative and responsive to your comments and valuable local knowledge.
"If you are unable to attend the events and would like to be involved our website will display the information shown at the events and provides detail on future events. ”
There are no tickets for this event. Entry is free.
- Visit Homes England website.
Tibbalds CampbellReith joint venture announced fro Houghton Regis
May 2022, News Item
- Homes England has appointed the Tibbalds CampbellReith joint venture for its Houghton Regis housing project.
The project will be led by Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design as masterplanner and planning consultant with Campbell Reith providing engineering, transport and environmental expertise.
The 14.72-hectare greenfield site is located east of Houghton Park Road in Houghton Regis.
It is one of 48 small and medium-size sites that have been allocated in the recently adopted Central Bedfordshire Local Plan. It could deliver 355 new homes as part of this wider growth area.
Development of the site stalled when a previous housebuilder wound down its business and it is now a Homes England * project.
The multidisciplinary team will create a masterplan and outline planning application for the site, covering project management, planning, technical, design and engagement/communication as part of its scope.
Katja Stille, director at Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design, said, “Houghton Park Road is located between existing development and a much larger urban extension. In that context the size of the site may not be very significant, but its location means it serves an important role in terms of achieving connectivity and integration regarding active transport and green-blue infrastructure.
“The clear objective of this project is to unlock the site for housing delivery. This means a workable masterplan and the right planning consent brought forward in good time, all with phasing, viability and other technical considerations factored in.
“Given the history of the site, winning the trust locally and building a positive relationship is important to us to ensure the masterplan works for both the existing and new community.”
* The TibbaldsCampbellReith JV was specifically established to meet Homes England’s requirements. During its 10+ years’ working relationship its track record includes projects such as Lightmoor in Telford, which is now fully delivered, Coypool, where the team helped unlock a constrained access situation and recently West Lane, Ripon where it delivered a Reserved Matters Application (RMA) on an extremely short timetable to keep the existing outline consent alive.
* The Houghton Regis team also includes TEP (landscape ecology), PlaceChangers Ltd (provision of community engagement platform), CgMs Consulting/RPS (Heritage and Archaeology), and Lambeth Smith Hampton (viability consultants).
* Homes England is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities .
Land East of Parkside - Homes England Interactive Website Lets You Get In on the Planning
22 March 2022, News Item
Homes England (HE) has developed a website showing the public the path they are taking on their journey to provide up to 350 new homes east of Houghton Park Road, on the eastern side of Parkside.
Previous plans for this site have been put aside and a brand new OUTLINE plan is being put together.
Members of the public can visit the HE website, and see what is involved. At Stage One, which is happening right now, there is an opportunity to complete a questionnaire where they are asking for feedback on your understanding of the engagement and comments that have been made so far. Last week there was a meet and greet and session.
By visiting the website Stage 1, your own ideas can be marked on an interactive map. A guided tour lets you easily navigate through locations on the map. And comments can be left.
For example, say what makes a good place to live, including your thoughts on types of open space and what you like about your neighbourhood.
Later will follow stage 2, 3, and 4.
Stage 2: Initial masterplan options and development brief: During Stage 2 of the engagement programme, HE will present the initial exploration of the options. There will be the opportunity for open discussions with team members, workshop activities and the chance to provide comments on the themes.
Stage 3: Final masterplan: During Stage 3 HE will present the Final masterplan and there will be the opportunity for the public to provide valuable feedback and make final comments. Online sessions will be available for vulnerable / shielding members of the community who are unable to attend in-person and further details about the day will be provided nearer the time, to be organised around the latest Covid-19 guidance.
Stage 4: Planning application: Once the planning application is submitted, HE will share an informative newsletter detailing a breakdown of the supporting documents, and information on where you will be able to find and track the progress of the application and what comes next.
You can find out more about the process by visiting the dedicated Houghton Regis page on the HE website. You can also enter your email address to get updates.
