Icknield Fields, Land between Walden Road and Newmarket Road, Great Chesterford, Essex
Proposed New Homes & Public Open Space
Outline planning application for new homes in Great Chesterford submitted
An outline planning application for Icknield Fields, Great Chesterford has now been submitted to Uttlesford District Council. The application can be viewed on the Council’s website (application - UTT/22/2997/OP November 2022)
Icknield Fields will seek to deliver a range of new homes all set within generous and high quality public open space supporting opportunities to lead healthy and resilient lifestyles. The village’s existing community park area will be extended by the proposals, supporting the vibrancy of this area as an integral and central part of village life and facilitating the integration and growth of the Great Chesterford community.
Following public consultation earlier in the year we have updated our proposals, and this has been summarised below:
- Nearly 60% of the site is proposed as public open space
- The heritage park has been widened to enable a greater viewing corridor between the off-site and on-site Scheduled Monuments. The park includes a heritage trail and interpretation boards. Development areas have been pulled back behind the archaeological trackways, and these have been demarcated by leisure footways within the open space network
- Proposals are for a maximum of 350 homes, including 40% affordable housing. Affordable housing is a combination of social rented, affordable rent, first homes and shared ownership housing, provided to eligible households whose needs are not met by the market. This will assist those looking for their first home, and lower income individuals and families get on the housing ladder in Great Chesterford;
- For those looking to downsize, the proposals also include a minimum of 5% bungalows and there is a limit of 2 storeys on all new homes;
- There are also 10 self build plots included within the proposals;
- A shop and café have been included within the development area;
- New homes will seek to deliver a 31% reduction a carbon emission (compared to a current home);
- Electric car charging points will be provided for each new home; and
- Over 40% improvement in biodiversity net gain due to inclusion of wildflower grassland mix and native tree and hedgerow planting.
Statutory consultees (e.g., Environment Agency, County Council and the Parish Council) and local residents will have the opportunity to formally comment on the application direct to Uttlesford District Council.
We will continue to work closely with the Council and where necessary will respond to statutory consultees.
An outline planning application seeks to establish whether the scale and nature of a proposed development would be acceptable to the local planning authority, before a second fully detailed planning application is put forward, which is called a Reserved Matters. A Reserved Matters application typically include information about the layout, scale and appearance of the development. No development can take place on site until the Reserved Matters application has been consented.
Both types of applications are required to undergo public consultation before submission. Statutory consultees for example the Environment Agency and the Highways Authority, and local residents will also have the opportunity to formally comment on the applications once they are submitted and registered with the Uttlesford District Council.
An outline application is a standard way of dealing with planning, and the granting of an outline planning permission does not preclude local stakeholders from commenting on a Reserved Matters application at a later stage in the planning process.
The Local Plan - Uttlesford District Council and the Planning System
Following the withdrawal of the emerging Local Plan (to 2033) in 2020, the development plan for Uttlesford is made up of the Adopted Local Plan (2005), the Minerals Local Plan and the Waste Local Plan. Therefore, a new Uttlesford Local Plan is currently being prepared but is currently at an early stage.
In April 2021, the District Council undertook a to a ‘Call for Sites’. It is anticipated that the New Local Plan will be adopted in Summer 2024.
Uttlesford District Council recognises that it is well short of providing enough housing land to meet current needs and that there are limited brownfield opportunities within the District. There is therefore a need for applications on suitable sites to come forward ahead of the adoption of the Local Plan and some of these will be needed on sites that are greenfield. UDC are currently unable to demonstrate that it has a five-year housing land supply. For the period 2021 – 2026, it is only able to demonstrate 3.52 years of housing supply. It therefore has a current deficit of 1,088 homes.
Great Chesterford is identified as a ‘Key Village’ reflecting its position as the second tier of the settlement hierarchy providing support to the surrounding rural areas and smaller villages plus its relative accessibility and sustainability. Great Chesterford is considered a sustainable village with a primary school, shop, pub and community centre. The Great Chesterford train station also provides regular services between London and Cambridge and there are local employment opportunities at Great Chesterford Research Park and the Wellcome Genome Park, both of which are seeking expansion.
As such we consider that development at Icknield Fields the most sustainable and deliverable location for housing, and help deliver some of the identified housing need.
There is a public consultation on the latest draft of the Great Chesterford Neighbourhood Plan which is separate to this consultation. The Neighbourhood Plan is being prepared ahead of the Uttlesford Local Plan and may be subject to change as it progresses.
July 2022 - Public Consultation for new homes in Great Chesterford rescheduled
Due to the extreme temperature forecast for Tuesday 19th July 2022, for health and safety reasons the public exhibition for Icknield Fields has been rescheduled.
This will now take place on: Tuesday 26th July 2022 5.00pm – 8.30pm.
The Hall, Community Centre, Newmarket Road, Great Chesterford, Saffron Walden, Essex, CB10 1NS
We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause and the deadline for feedback has been extended to Sunday 7th August 2022.
You can find out more about our proposals at: www.catesby-icknieldfields.co.uk
July 2022 - Public Consultation for new homes in Great Chesterford due to start
The public consultation for Catesby's proposals at Icknield Fields, land between Walden Road and Newmarket Road, Great Chesterford is due to commence.
A Public Exhibition will be held on Tuesday 19th July 2022 4pm – 8pm in the hall at the Community Centre, Newmarket Road, Great Chesterford, Saffron Walden, Essex, CB10 1NS.
The consultation website contains the information on the proposals from a planning, technical and design perspective, along with a number of short videos and external links to useful sites that we hope you will find informative.
www.catesby-icknieldfields.co.uk
The public consultation period for our proposals will end on Wednesday 27th July 2022.
Great Chesterford strategic land site background - May 2022
Catesby Estates has entered into an agreement to promote land between Walden Road and Newmarket Road, Great Chesterford, known as Icknield Fields.
The 79.1 acre greenfield site lies within the administrative area of Uttlesford District Council, which is at the early stages of preparing a new Local Plan. Great Chesterford provides a sustainable location for new housing, and this site provides a unique opportunity to deliver a sensitively designed residential scheme which will help to showcase some of the village’s history for the wider community.
Icknield Fields is within walking distance of the community centre, village shop, school and train station with services to London and Cambridge, along with access to nearby employment opportunities at the Wellcome Genome Campus.
David Harper, Area Land Director for Catesby Estates said; “We are pleased to have added this well located and sustainable site to our land promotion portfolio. We will now be working closely with the Council and other local stakeholders to bring this site forward which can provide much needed new homes, along with wider social and economic benefits for the existing community.”
Simon Thomas at Roebuck Land and Planning acted on behalf of the landowners.
Site Specifics
79.1 Acre Site (32.0 Hectares)
Up to 350 New Homes
Up To 350 New Homes - With a mix of house sizes and types, ranging from 2 to 5 bed properties to meet local policy requirements and identified need.
40% Affordable Housing - Affordable housing is a combination of first homes, affordable rent and shared ownership housing, provided to eligible households whose needs are not met by the market.
This will assist those looking for their first home, and lower income individuals and families get on the housing ladder in Great Chesterford.
Great Chesterford is a highly desirable, but expensive place to live, meaning many people are priced out of the market and are being forced to relocate from an area they grew up in, or are unable to upsize or downsize to meet their housing requirements.
According to Rightmove houses in the area had an overall average price of £515,120 over the last year, which is significantly higher than average UK house price of £293,000 as listed by the Office of National Statistics.
Highways And Access - The main vehicular access is proposed to the east of the site from Walden Road.
The potential for a new roundabout could encourage lower vehicle speeds heading towards the site and the wider village is currently being explored.
It is proposed that a smaller simple priority junction could be provided onto Newmarket Road to facilitate east to west movements for future residents and offers the potential for bus access.
The Newmarket Road access would be supported by enhanced village gateway features to again encourage lower speeds on entry to Great Chesterford.
It is proposed to provide a footway/ cycleway connection along Newmarket Road from the site towards the village. Further improvements to pedestrian and cycle connectivity are being discussed with the Local Highway Authority.
As part of preparing our Transport Assessment, we are undertaking numerous traffic counts and surveys of the local and wider road network. All assessments will include known committed development and planned growth through to 2040 for the strategic road network and c2028 for the local road network.
Policy compliant parking along visitor spaces would be provided throughout the development.
Archaeology and Heritage - We recognise Great Chesterford is a historic village and therefore we want to make sure protecting the history of the area is at the heart of our plans.
The site includes part of a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM) which relates to the Roman fort and town.
We commissioned detailed trenching across the site which resulted in limited findings being made and evidence of the land being historically used for enclosures associated with agriculture.
There were a number of trackways extending northwards from the scheduled Roman fort, and one burial was encountered. This is currently in the process of being dated.
Energy Efficient And Low Carbon Homes - Existing housing accounts for 20% of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK.
Therefore to help reduce carbon emissions and keep down household energy costs, the new homes built will meet the latest energy efficiency standards and be heated by cleaner energy sources.
In this regard the new homes to be developed will:
Reduce carbon emissions by up to 31% (compared to homes built to current energy efficiency requirements) in accordance with new Building Regulations.
New homes will feature technology including photovoltaic (solar) panels, heat pumps, triple glazing and standards for walls, floors and roofs that significantly limit any heat loss.
Provision of electric vehicle charging points in accordance with the adopted Parking Standards SPD.
Outline planning application for new homes in Great Chesterford submitted
An outline planning application for Icknield Fields, Great Chesterford has now been submitted to Uttlesford District Council. The application can be viewed on the Council’s website (application - UTT/22/2997/OP November 2022)
Icknield Fields will seek to deliver a range of new homes all set within generous and high quality public open space supporting opportunities to lead healthy and resilient lifestyles. The village’s existing community park area will be extended by the proposals, supporting the vibrancy of this area as an integral and central part of village life and facilitating the integration and growth of the Great Chesterford community.
Following public consultation earlier in the year we have updated our proposals, and this has been summarised below:
- Nearly 60% of the site is proposed as public open space
- The heritage park has been widened to enable a greater viewing corridor between the off-site and on-site Scheduled Monuments. The park includes a heritage trail and interpretation boards. Development areas have been pulled back behind the archaeological trackways, and these have been demarcated by leisure footways within the open space network
- Proposals are for a maximum of 350 homes, including 40% affordable housing. Affordable housing is a combination of social rented, affordable rent, first homes and shared ownership housing, provided to eligible households whose needs are not met by the market. This will assist those looking for their first home, and lower income individuals and families get on the housing ladder in Great Chesterford;
- For those looking to downsize, the proposals also include a minimum of 5% bungalows and there is a limit of 2 storeys on all new homes;
- There are also 10 self build plots included within the proposals;
- A shop and café have been included within the development area;
- New homes will seek to deliver a 31% reduction a carbon emission (compared to a current home);
- Electric car charging points will be provided for each new home; and
- Over 40% improvement in biodiversity net gain due to inclusion of wildflower grassland mix and native tree and hedgerow planting.
Statutory consultees (e.g., Environment Agency, County Council and the Parish Council) and local residents will have the opportunity to formally comment on the application direct to Uttlesford District Council.
We will continue to work closely with the Council and where necessary will respond to statutory consultees.
An outline planning application seeks to establish whether the scale and nature of a proposed development would be acceptable to the local planning authority, before a second fully detailed planning application is put forward, which is called a Reserved Matters. A Reserved Matters application typically include information about the layout, scale and appearance of the development. No development can take place on site until the Reserved Matters application has been consented.
Both types of applications are required to undergo public consultation before submission. Statutory consultees for example the Environment Agency and the Highways Authority, and local residents will also have the opportunity to formally comment on the applications once they are submitted and registered with the Uttlesford District Council.
An outline application is a standard way of dealing with planning, and the granting of an outline planning permission does not preclude local stakeholders from commenting on a Reserved Matters application at a later stage in the planning process.
The Local Plan - Uttlesford District Council and the Planning System
Following the withdrawal of the emerging Local Plan (to 2033) in 2020, the development plan for Uttlesford is made up of the Adopted Local Plan (2005), the Minerals Local Plan and the Waste Local Plan. Therefore, a new Uttlesford Local Plan is currently being prepared but is currently at an early stage.
In April 2021, the District Council undertook a to a ‘Call for Sites’. It is anticipated that the New Local Plan will be adopted in Summer 2024.
Uttlesford District Council recognises that it is well short of providing enough housing land to meet current needs and that there are limited brownfield opportunities within the District. There is therefore a need for applications on suitable sites to come forward ahead of the adoption of the Local Plan and some of these will be needed on sites that are greenfield. UDC are currently unable to demonstrate that it has a five-year housing land supply. For the period 2021 – 2026, it is only able to demonstrate 3.52 years of housing supply. It therefore has a current deficit of 1,088 homes.
Great Chesterford is identified as a ‘Key Village’ reflecting its position as the second tier of the settlement hierarchy providing support to the surrounding rural areas and smaller villages plus its relative accessibility and sustainability. Great Chesterford is considered a sustainable village with a primary school, shop, pub and community centre. The Great Chesterford train station also provides regular services between London and Cambridge and there are local employment opportunities at Great Chesterford Research Park and the Wellcome Genome Park, both of which are seeking expansion.
As such we consider that development at Icknield Fields the most sustainable and deliverable location for housing, and help deliver some of the identified housing need.
There is a public consultation on the latest draft of the Great Chesterford Neighbourhood Plan which is separate to this consultation. The Neighbourhood Plan is being prepared ahead of the Uttlesford Local Plan and may be subject to change as it progresses.
July 2022 - Public Consultation for new homes in Great Chesterford rescheduled
Due to the extreme temperature forecast for Tuesday 19th July 2022, for health and safety reasons the public exhibition for Icknield Fields has been rescheduled.
This will now take place on: Tuesday 26th July 2022 5.00pm – 8.30pm.
The Hall, Community Centre, Newmarket Road, Great Chesterford, Saffron Walden, Essex, CB10 1NS
We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause and the deadline for feedback has been extended to Sunday 7th August 2022.
You can find out more about our proposals at: www.catesby-icknieldfields.co.uk
July 2022 - Public Consultation for new homes in Great Chesterford due to start
The public consultation for Catesby's proposals at Icknield Fields, land between Walden Road and Newmarket Road, Great Chesterford is due to commence.
A Public Exhibition will be held on Tuesday 19th July 2022 4pm – 8pm in the hall at the Community Centre, Newmarket Road, Great Chesterford, Saffron Walden, Essex, CB10 1NS.
The consultation website contains the information on the proposals from a planning, technical and design perspective, along with a number of short videos and external links to useful sites that we hope you will find informative.
www.catesby-icknieldfields.co.uk
The public consultation period for our proposals will end on Wednesday 27th July 2022.
Great Chesterford strategic land site background - May 2022
Catesby Estates has entered into an agreement to promote land between Walden Road and Newmarket Road, Great Chesterford, known as Icknield Fields.
The 79.1 acre greenfield site lies within the administrative area of Uttlesford District Council, which is at the early stages of preparing a new Local Plan. Great Chesterford provides a sustainable location for new housing, and this site provides a unique opportunity to deliver a sensitively designed residential scheme which will help to showcase some of the village’s history for the wider community.
Icknield Fields is within walking distance of the community centre, village shop, school and train station with services to London and Cambridge, along with access to nearby employment opportunities at the Wellcome Genome Campus.
David Harper, Area Land Director for Catesby Estates said; “We are pleased to have added this well located and sustainable site to our land promotion portfolio. We will now be working closely with the Council and other local stakeholders to bring this site forward which can provide much needed new homes, along with wider social and economic benefits for the existing community.”
Simon Thomas at Roebuck Land and Planning acted on behalf of the landowners.
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