One Horton Heath masterplan gets green light
Horton Heath Development Management Committee last night approved principles of an outline planning permission for the One Horton Heath development, a 125 hectare site on land at Burnetts Lane, Fir Tree Lane and Allington Lane in Horton Heath.
The outline planning application is an important step for the One Horton Heath (OHH) development as it provides a masterplan for the site including new homes, community facilities and transport infrastructure.
The development will consist of up to 2,500 homes including a mix of market and affordable housing together with a primary school, local centres with retail and business units, and community buildings. It will also provide formal sports facilities and informal public open spaces, footpaths and cycleways.
Crucially, it also includes the provision of vital new infrastructure in the form of new roads and improvements to existing road junctions such as Fir Tree Lane and Burnetts Lane and the bottleneck of the Allington Lane junction with Fair Oak Road.
Council Leader Cllr Keith House said, “One Horton Heath is an exciting scheme for the Council and unlike any major development in the country. It is driven by the Council for the community, not by a developer for private profit. It will create a genuine community with higher standards of space, construction and environmental standards than conventional housing, with infrastructure delivered first rather than an afterthought.
He added, “The major roads will be completed before any homes are occupied. Over a third of homes will be Council homes for rent, and another quarter market rent with the option of lifetime tenancies and future purchase. So One Horton Heath works for everyone with over half of the site given over to green space, a new local school and local centre, retirement homes and green energy built in from day one."
The committee approved the application in principle and has delegated the decision to the Executive Head for Planning and Economy, in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair subject to receipt and consideration of final comments from consultees, the completion of Habitats Regulations Appropriate Assessment, Environmental Impact Assessment and the S106 legal agreement.