The Landings, Ford

The challenge:

Faced with an Ecotown proposal imposed on them in 2007, the community came together to fight the proposals which they had no say in. And that was the end of it. However, faced with other proposals they didn’t want either and a fear of proposals being allowed due to housing shortfalls, the community decided to take control of its own future.

The solution:

We were recommended to speak to the Parish about their issues and aspirations; and they commenced preparing a Neighbourhood Plan. Acting for the landowners and promoter, we invested time and resisted taking over; instead inviting the community to come up with its own ideas, which we appointed designers to prepare into a master plan which was checked, influenced and ultimately supported but the Neighbourhood Plan group. It wasn’t all plain sailing and there were difficult choices and decisions to be made. But the mutual trust built with the community, local Councillors and an ethos of transparency resulted in the largest Neighbourhood Plan allocation at the time – 1500 private and affordable homes, a local centre, parkland, a primary school, health centre and sports facilities. The draft Neighbourhood Plan allocation held back pending the new Local Plan, which included the same proposals and an outline application submitted and ultimately determined. The Neighbourhood Plan was subsequently made following overwhelming support at the referendum. In the mean time, a competing application for a large scale waste incineration plant was successfully refused.

The mixed use scheme is currently being built out by Vistry Homes.

In the words of the late Trevor Ford, then Chair of the Parish Council, “why can’t landowners, developers, Councils and the community work together?”

Client: Wates Developments / Redrow Homes
Design: Barton Willmore
LPA: Arun District Council