Planning application submitted for Dunton Hills Garden Village

CEG has submitted a planning application to Brentwood Borough Council for a 225.75 hectare site which forms part of the Dunton Hills Garden Village. The application is in outline form to establish the principle of the development with the main accesses from the A128 Tilbury Road.

The Garden Village is one of the first 14 Garden Towns and Villages identified by Government in 2017. It forms part of Brentwood’s emerging Local Plan, for which Examination hearings concluded in summer. The planning application is not expected to go to a planning committee prior to the independent Inspectors reporting on the outcome of the Local Plan Examination.

The circa£780 million development is designed to be in-keeping with Brentwood Borough Council’s Framework Masterplan Document for the entire site, which was extensively consulted upon.

The planning application provides for up to 3,700 new homes, three care homes, a village centre and two neighbourhood hubs, which will provide easy access to shops, facilities and services. There will also be three primary schools, a secondary school, which maybe co-located with a primary school, children’s nurseries and a community sports hub, as well as a football and cricket pitches.

About half of the site will be green space which will include trees, hedgerows, grassland and habitats, as well as a village green, community growing space, an orchard, ponds and new informal parkland. There will be a 20% net biodiversity gain when compared to the existing site. Designed to be a healthy place to live and work, it will include new walking and cycling routes, as well as formal sports facilities.

A mobility hub will provide a forward thinking approach to the sustainable travel proposals, which include a community concierge, hire and repair of cycles, car sharing schemes, traditional bus and demand responsive transport infrastructure. An improved pedestrian/cycle link to West Horndon railway station is to be provided, complementing the Council’s aspirations to enhance the facilities available at the station.

Charlotte Robinson, strategic planning manager at CEG, said: “The planning submission follows many years of engagement with the Council, local stakeholders and residents. It is a locally designed and landscape-led development, providing a mix of new homes and employment space, set amongst extensive green spaces, with schools, healthcare facilities, shops and services all within walking distance. “The application provides for extensive investment into transport infrastructure, alongside the education and healthcare provision. There will also be much-needed affordable housing designed to enable local people and young people stay in the area.”

The development will create 1,150 jobs and will support a further 700 plus jobs in the local area. There is expected to be some £71million of additional expenditure each year, supporting the local economy.