Councillor Briefing on Elvetham Chase

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1 Councillor Briefing on Elvetham Chase In partnership with the Calthorpe Estate, Wates Developments vision for Elvetham Chase is to provide an outstanding new community for Hart District that will become as loved locally as its predecessor, Elvetham Heath. Members will be aware that the Elvetham Chase proposals have gone through a lengthy process of evolution with many changes. This is because the local ward members, the Council s planning team and a very engaged local community have challenged Wates Developments throughout to deliver the best possible scheme for the area. Thanks to this strong level of engagement, our proposals have evolved and improved. Elvetham Chase will make a significant contribution towards resolving many concerns - such as the safety of children walking to Calthorpe Park Secondary School, the capacity of local schools and traffic congestion. This note demonstrates these improvements and benefits. November 2017

2 KEY ASPECTS & BENEFITS OF THE PROPOSALS Up to 700 much needed new homes including 280 (40%) affordable homes for local families. Thus making an essential contribution to meeting the needs of the 1,291 households currently registered on the housing waiting list New pedestrian crossing and footpaths providing a safe route for school children walking to Calthorpe Park Secondary School 6 million of highway improvements at six locations as well as a new community bus, increasing capacity and reducing congestion across the network A landscape led scheme which will see 59% of the site (87 acres of the 146) left undeveloped open green space, Exploratory trail within Bushy Hill SANG carpark with interpretation board and picnic area at start of 2.3km circular walk M3 Motorway Bushy Hill Parkfield Copse SANG Seasonally wet pond with viewing deck provides views across central open area towards Bushy Hill Meandering paths provide wider connectivity to the SANG Railway Line PAGE 2 COMMUNITY OF THREE WOODS ELVETHAM CHASE

3 including the 34.5 acre on-site Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) Development within a self-contained site of low visual sensitivity, bordered by the M3 the railway and Fleet Road 10 million of investment in local schools including a site for a primary school in addition to a pre-school early years facility A small complementary retail offer at a new local centre and village green Homes and desperately needed infrastructure will be delivered swiftly, along with 1.1 million in council tax revenues per year plus 2.8 million in New Homes Bonus Informal Open Space and Native Planting to north of Palelane Farmhouse Structural planting to rear of Palelane Farmhouse School playing fields maintain open views from Palelane Farm Elvetham Heath Primary School Site Existing tree belts adjacent to Fleet Road and Elvetham Heath retained and enhanced Village Green Woodland edge enhanced with native thicket mix Great Bog Copse Seasonal ponds and wet woodland add amenity and wildlife benefit along the southern boundary New Local Centre Wet woodland and boardwalks provide play and education benefit within Great Bog Copse COMMUNITY OF THREE WOODS ELVETHAM CHASE PAGE 3

4 ROAD, TRANSPORT AND PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS All of which have been designed, tested and evidenced to safely accommodate the development traffic and all other committed development traffic. Hartley Wintney 3. Pale Lane A30 Pedestrianise the upper part of Pale Lane to calm traffic flow around the village green and primary school, restricting vehicular use to just the new community bus and existing residents 1. Hartley Wintney A sensitive and small scale widening around the mini roundabout junction at the A30 / Fleet Road will create two arms at each of the three approaches, thereby reducing queuing and delay A Fleet Road Access into Elvetham Chase will be via a new roundabout on Fleet Road that passes through the development to re-join the southern part of Pale Lane Fleet Road Improvement to the A323 Fleet Road corridor including improved pedestrian and cycle crossing facilities, designated walking and cycling facilities to connect towards Fleet and speed management measures New safe pedestrian route through railway arch to Edenbrook Country Park and beyond Elvetham Heath Primary School Elvetham Chase Primary School 1 4. Double Roundabout Increased capacity by widening the southern approach on A323 to the double roundabout junction will reduce queuing congestion A new pedestrian signal crossing and new footpath along the south of Fleet Road forms part of a new safe route for children walking to Calthorpe Park Secondary School Calthorpe Park SecondarySchool PAGE 4 COMMUNITY OF THREE WOODS ELVETHAM CHASE

5 1 Visual of new pedestrian crossing over Fleet Road, A323 along with new footpath south of the road. M3 Community Bus Route 6. Community Bus Serving both Elvetham Chase and Elvetham Heath residents to meet commuter needs, the bus will run to Fleet station at peak times, thereby reducing both traffic on the network and parking pressure at the station. Off peak the bus will service local shopping destinations and health providers Hospital 7. Fleet Station A new pedestrian signal crossing on Fleet Road (A3013) will significantly reduce delays by allowing a break in flow for cars waiting to exit Elvetham Road Fleet A Cycle Routes Funding to bring forward local cycling route improvements A Oak Sheaf Traffic signal reconfiguration and widening of Reading Road South will improve safety for pedestrians crossing and reduce congestion COMMUNITY OF THREE WOODS ELVETHAM CHASE PAGE 5

6 1 Visual from Pale Lane towards new primary school thou 2 Visual along the wooded edge of Elvetham Chase with Great Bog Copse INVESTMENT IN FLEET S SCHOOLS Wates Developments understands local concerns about school provision in Fleet. Existing residents rightly want their children educated close to home, and in the best possible schools. To address these concerns, the following contributions have now been agreed with the planning teams at Hart District and Hampshire County Council: 5 million in secondary education funding, which Hampshire County Council has confirmed will be used to enhance and expand Calthorpe Park Secondary School A new two form entry primary school on-site, enabled by the provision of 6.5 acres of land and a contribution of 5 million for construction LOCAL CENTRE Elvetham Chase will be anchored around a small vibrant local centre carefully positioned next to the village green and the primary school. Creating the heart of the community, this small, high end offering will establish the unique identity of Elvetham Chase and feature several small retail units, a café overlooking the village green and a the new 60 place early years nursery. The new primary school will have spare capacity for 185 primary aged children from Elvetham Heath and Fleet, beyond the 235 places needed for the children of Elvetham Chase 1 i 3 2 PAGE 6 COMMUNITY OF THREE WOODS ELVETHAM CHASE

7 oughtful inclusive 3 Visual of local centre COMMUNITY OF THREE WOODS ELVETHAM CHASE PAGE 7

8 tranquil a community of three woods Elvetham Chase HOUSING SUPPLY IN HART We appreciate the difficult position members of the Council are in yet Hart District is desperately in need of new housing. With 1,291 households registered on your housing waiting list and a record of chronic under-delivery against your 40% affordable policy, Elvetham Chase s 280 affordable homes will make a crucial contribution. According to the UK House Price Index (August 2017), the average house price in Hart was 412,604, up a staggering 25% since Affordability is worsening year on year at 11.8 times earnings, driven in part by the lack of new housing. Without substantial additional housing that Elvetham Chase will in part provide, the prospect of owning a home for the young of Hart District is ever diminishing. Recent planning decisions have shown that the policies Hart District is currently using to determine applications are out of date. If approved locally, Elvetham Chase can help the Council by delivering a significant number of new houses swiftly, filling the long gap that other, more strategic scale sites will take to deliver their homes, as well as the vital infrastructure improvements that residents want and deserve. THE CALTHORPE ESTATE & WATES DEVELOPMENTS The Calthorpe Estate is a long term local landowner committed to creating thriving communities with a proven legacy and reputation for delivering quality schemes locally. This local commitment and pioneering vision gave life to the hugely popular Blue Triangle development over 50 years ago, then the Elvetham Heath development and Calthorpe Park Secondary School. As a 120 year old privately-owned company, community and sustainability are at the core of everything we do at Wates Developments. We approach every development as an opportunity to create places for people to live and thrive. Elvetham Chase bears all the hallmarks of quality, sustainability and place-making that will bear the test of time to be recognised as an exemplar for future developments, and as such deserves your support. Designed & Published by LDA Design Document Contains Ordnance Survey material by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty s Stationery Office Crown Copyright All rights reserved. Reference number OS Open data Crown copyright and database right Aerial Photography Esri