High quality new homes

The development will help meet housing need in Takeley and the wider district, including 40% Affordable Housing. New pedestrian links, green open spaces, and natural play areas will support health and wellbeing and encourage active lifestyles.

The Government defines affordable housing as ‘social rented, affordable rented and intermediate housing provided to specified eligible households whose needs are not met by the market.’ This includes a variety of housing products including shared ownership, social rent, affordable rent, and discounted market rent. The affordable mix will also include Shared Ownership which provides opportunities for those looking to get onto the housing ladder.

The proposals respond to the site’s sensitive location on the rural edge of Takeley by incorporating a minimum 15m ecological buffer to Prior’s Wood and by using landscape-led design principles.

The layout has been designed to ensure compatibility with neighbouring properties, maintain views, and create a character that integrates with its surroundings.

Following market research and evaluations, it has been confirmed that there is an insufficient need for a care home in Takeley. Therefore, the decision has been taken to deliver 20 new homes on the parcel to ensure cohesion between development parcels while providing and meeting the local needs.

Hill has also engaged with the Parish Council, which supported the intention to replace the previously approved large care home building with more appropriately scaled residential homes.

There is a significant and well-documented need for new housing in Uttlesford District. The Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) for West Essex and East Herts identifies a need for approximately 9,877 new households in Uttlesford between 2011 and 2033. Of this, over 2,700 households are identified as needing affordable housing — with 576 already in need and a further 2,148 expected to arise during the plan period.

In total, around 12,500 homes are required in the district by 2033, which equates to approximately 568 new homes per year. However, Uttlesford District Council has struggled to meet this target and, as of April 2024, could only demonstrate a 4.12-year housing land supply, falling short of the Government’s required five-year supply.

The Hill proposals at Takeley will help to address this shortfall by delivering 108 new homes, including 40% as affordable housing, directly contributing to local housing need in a sustainable and well-connected location.

Financial contributions towards local services such as education and healthcare will be agreed through a Section 106 Agreement, in line with standard planning obligations. This is in line with the previously granted Outline planning permission parameter plans.

A Transport Assessment will be submitted with the planning application which will set out the transport strategy for the proposals in further detail. In addition, this report will include an assessment of the offsite transport, traffic and sustainable transport network impacts.

In order to take this application forward, these proposals will need to demonstrate there will be no undue impact on the local road network and any mitigation if required.

A reserved matters planning application is the second stage of a two-part planning process, following an outline planning permission. While outline permission establishes the general principle of development on a site, it leaves out specific details such as the appearance, means of access, landscaping, layout, and scale of the proposed buildings and spaces. The reserved matters application is where these crucial details are submitted for approval to the local planning authority. You cannot begin construction until these reserved matters have been formally approved, ensuring that the final design aligns with local planning policies and any conditions set during the initial outline approval.

As part of the preparation of the planning application, current wildlife on site has been considered and will be protected as much as possible. We will put in place:

• A minimum 15m buffer to Prior’s Wood with native woodland planting and wildflower strips.
• Limiting access into woodland areas to protect root zones.
• Habitat-rich environments within open space and landscaped corridors including wildflower planting.

The proposals for development on the site will include the utilisation of sustainable drainage principles to improve the current on-site drainage situation. The drainage strategy will incorporate a Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) and will take into account run off from the new development and supporting infrastructure, including allowances for increased rainfall and climate change.