Picture of modern build houses, UK

Planning in 2023

03/01/2023

2023 will see the UK taking some major steps forward with planning policy reform. The UK government has announced measures to place local communities at the heart of the planning system as part of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. The measures aim to build the right homes in the right places with the right infrastructure, ensuring the environment is protected and giving local people a greater say on where new development should be placed.

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Drainage in the UK

09/06/2017

Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface/subsurface water from an area. Every new development in the UK needs to take into consideration the effect water will have on the scheme. In recent years changes to planning policy have led to requirements for Sustainable Drainage Schemes (SuDS) to be implemented within new developments. This is mainly down to failures in past developments not adequately dealing with surface water runoff and a surcharge from overloaded drainage systems. All the data and unknown impact climate change is going to have on our world in the future is also steering us to plan for the worse. Drainage systems on large and small scale developments need to be well thought through utilising the land in the best and most efficient way whilst ensuring minimal future issues.

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Archaeology Trenching at Blunsdon

09/05/2017

A key element of the planning process has begun on site at Blunsdon, Swindon. Capital Land Civil Engineering and Headland Archaeology have been excavating trial trenches for archaeological evaluation to see what lies beneath the earth. The natural geological deposits and any archaeological findings are recorded. This information is collated along with a whole array of desk studies to form a comprehensive report.

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Great Stall West NEV Acquired

26/04/2017

Capital Land Property Group, through their associated companies has secured interests in further land in Swindon at what is known as the New Eastern Villages (NEV) development scheme. The 8000 homes urban expansion scheme proposed to the south east of Swindon Wiltshire is one of the largest urban expansions in the UK. The Group has secured a further 34 hectares (84 acres) of key development land, known as Great Stall West NEV which is included within the Swindon Local Plan to provide additional housing, a retail park and business centre.

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Ecology

20/04/2017

Ecology is the science of relationships between living organisms and their environment. It is an extremely important part of the planning process for any proposed development site.

Britain supports a diverse and interesting array of wildlife. Many of these species are protected and any proposed development needs to accommodate this within the plans. Ecology studies and surveys need to be carried out at different times of the year dependant on the species. These survey windows are generally short and limited. As many species receive legal protection where a development may impact the environment, survey data must be provided to support a planning application; however they should only be required where there is a reasonable chance of protected species being affected. The first step is to carry out extended phase 1 habitat surveys. This will include desk based studies, site survey and detailed report. This will show the habitats present on any proposed site, which species are or could be present, the potential impacts, the legal/planning issues that need to be addressed and timings for the phase 2 studies.

This is a brief over view of the initial process to ensure the environment is protected in the early stages of any development on sites. Capital Land works with specialist teams in this area to ensure the biodiversity is managed correctly.

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UK Home Energy Use

29/03/2017

Have you ever thought about how much energy a home uses? Housing energy is nearly a third of total energy use in the UK. When planning to build out housing developments of all sizes it is important to take into consideration how much estimated energy the houses will use. The average home energy consumption in the UK, at the time of the latest Energy & Climate Change’s Energy Consumption Report, shows the average household using 3,938 KWh of electricity and 12,962 kWh of gas a year.

The difference in outside temperature to inside the home during the winter months is one of the key factors for shaping the energy, mainly gas, we use in our homes. With the rise of technology and change in lifestyles we have also seen more appliances enter the home contributing to more energy use; although technology has also made energy consumption more efficient. There are now far more electric devices in homes such as flat screen TVs, washing machines, tumble dryers, hairdryers, computers, games consoles, audio systems, chargers and fridge freezers etc. The trend in use of these devices has and ever is increasing. We shouldn’t shy away from using energy but should look to decrease our wastage and for alternative clean sources.

This article by no means tackles the complexity of this question and various specialists are engaged when implementing development schemes. As this is a fairly multidimensional question with various factors affecting the outcome of the average home’s energy use we have touched on some of the key points from the Department of Energy & Climate Change’s United Kingdom housing energy fact file, Energy Consumption in the UK November 2016 report and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy’s Digest of United Kingdom statistics 2016.

Photo: ESA/NASA

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Great Stall East’s Cycle Ways

22/02/2017

With the urban expansion of Swindon, cycle ways are set to play a role under the Swindon Cycling Framework and the national Governments Cycling Delivery Plan. The site at Great Stall East in New Eastern Villages is set to incorporate a cycleway with a portion of it proposed to run alongside the river Cole. Having the cycleway near to the river will incorporate not only the daily commuter but the leisure and sports cycling aspect of Swindon’s Cycling Framework. According to the Swindon Cycling Framework and Census data only 4.2% of work trips in Swindon are made via bikes. In order to increase this figure the routes cyclists can take need to be more appealing rather than just alongside busy road networks.

The proposed school at New Eastern Villages also plays a key role with the cycleway. The Cycling Framework aims to have more pupils walking and cycling to school and the cycleway needs to encourage and provide a safe route for these pupils. The National Planning Policy Framework, Department for Communities and Local Government also states the transport system should be balanced yet in favour of sustainable transport.  With modern technology, electric, hybrid and low-emission vehicles it is important to blend transport routes together rather than favour one over the other. Census data shows that the car and bus is by the far the most preferred mode of transport for people in Swindon. With all this taken into consideration the cycleway at Great Stall East should be of high quality serving cyclists in a way that makes it convenient, enjoyable and safe whilst not jeopardising the overall transport network.

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NEV Transport

02/02/2017

Modelling the NEV transport networks.

The number of vehicles hitting our transport networks in the UK is ever increasing. With new developments such as New Eastern Villages in Swindon proposing to add critical infrastructure such as high speed bus links, cycle ways, schools, recreational sports facilities, shops and housing this will inevitable see new usage to these transport networks. The new development at Great Stall East is having extensive transport modelling undertaken by Capital Land and their team to ensure the new infrastructure is designed in a way that is efficient and sees minimal impact to its users going to and from destinations. The key is to improve on the wider past flaws designed into the surrounding local transport networks ensuring the closed development functions as a fluid network.

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NEV Park & Ride

25/01/2017

Capital Land have been in discussion with Stagecoach on how best to deliver a park and ride for Swindon that works. With New Eastern Villages set to bring well needed infrastructure and housing to Swindon the current and future bus links need planning. The proposed park and ride set out by the local Borough Council at New Eastern Villages is one aspect of the wider transport network being carefully thought through by Capital Land and Stagecoach to accommodate existing and future users transport needs.

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