Sustainable Urban Extension plans submitted for go-ahead

20/08/04

National regeneration agency, English Partnerships has submitted a planning application for one of the largest and most exciting sustainable urban extensions being planned in England today which is set to include 3,000 homes, offices, leisure and retail facilities.

Plans for Lawley Village, Telford are now with the local authority, the Borough of Telford & Wrekin for consideration. The development will be a national example of best practice in sustainable growth and a model for the design of other urban extensions across the country. The site makes the best use of a brownfield site, 65% of which was formerly used for opencast and shaft coal mines and provides 20% of the town’s housing requirement over the next ten years to meet housing shortfalls in the West Midlands.

Lawley has been masterplanned in partnership with the Prince’s Foundation and in close consultation with the local community, key stakeholders and consultants using a process called ‘Enquiry by Design’. This process is a highly intensive and inclusive planning method ensuring that participants have a real ‘hands on’ approach to shaping the future of the area. Over the last year a number of practical workshops have taken place, attended by local residents and stakeholders, where the opportunity to discuss the framework plan for Lawley has provided real input into the future shape of the development.

It was through the Enquiry by Design process that a set of Design Codes governing the overall design, look and feel of the development has been drawn up. The design codes will provide an improved quality of development and set a level of certainty amongst local planners and the developers. The codes will govern everything from the amount of space dedicated to waste and recycling bins in residential areas to the maximum walking distance to local facilities. The input from the local community has been crucial in shaping the codes and will ensure that new residents will take a real pride in the new homes they have helped to design.

The impact of traffic within the new development and surrounding area has been comprehensively reviewed through a Movement Study undertaken by consultants. The final plan includes revised traffic management measures to minimise potential congestion and maximise accessibility for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport. The proposed new traffic measures are part of the town wide plan to change Telford from a predominantly car dependent town to a more ‘people friendly’, accessible town of the future. A green open space network will form a central route connecting the Lawley communities with bridleways, pedestrian routes, local countryside routes and surrounding areas.

English Partnerships, Project Manager Steven Edwards commented, "We’ve been working very hard over the last year alongside the local community and stakeholders to develop a plan which will sustain a wide variety of social, economic and environmental mixes. The proposed plan we have submitted to the Borough is a truly unique vision of a place with a real sense of identity which both enhances and respects the local character of the area.

"It has taken a dedicated team of experts several years to bring the Lawley plan to this stage through such a high level of local consultation and complexity. It is hoped that by working with the local community from its very inception Lawley will provide a national example of how communities can be planned from the ground up."

Lawley will consist of a series of four new neighbourhoods focused on a new centre and public transport node to be known a Lawley Square. The four neighbourhoods will be Newdale Valley, Lawley Village, Lawley Bank and Newdale, each with their own discernable character.

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