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As the huge development of the Northern Fringe starts and a plethora of lengthy planning applications lands on our computers, I thought members would be interested in an overview of the history, the rationale, the dwellings, the community aims, the infrastructure and connections to Ipswich and Suffolk.
It is an accepted fact that the UK does not have enough houses; to allow developers to build new houses, every Local Planning Authority has to have an agreed quota of annual starts. Ipswich’s ‘greenfield’ sites within its tight boundaries have all been utilised; there are few spaces left, except previously used ‘brownfield sites’. There was one exception, importantly, the farmland north of Valley road between Henley, Westerfield and Tuddenham Roads. To fulfil its quota, this had to be allocated to a large new development, otherwise, in the absence of adequate identified land allocated to housing in the Local Plan, developers could build almost anything, anywhere.
So, in 2011, this large parcel of farmland was named the Northern Fringe and allocated in the Local Plan to be an urban extension of Ipswich; it will have at least 3,500 new dwellings, a primary road structure with two bridges across the railway, a secondary and three primary schools, district and local shopping centres, a health facility, public open spaces and, not least a large Country Park.
The Adopted Core Strategy Ten (CS10) describes the land use and infrastructure requirements in detail. The Planning Department started a public consultation in April 2012, from which, after a period of responses and consultations, including visits to new developments in Cambridge, Milton Keynes and Harlow as well as Ravenswood, some trips being organised by The Society.
Eventually a Draft Strategic Planning Document was produced which was adopted after modification in March 2017, with an infrastructure delivery plan. Throughout, Ipswich Borough Council has allocated a dedicated team of officers to the project.
And a word about the financials. The figures are staggering; up to 3,500 houses at an average of, say, £275,000 will bring in close to a billion pounds. But the infrastructure costs, at 2015 prices, will be £132,000,000. To this must be added the land acquisition and build costs. However, I think we can be sure that the developers will ensure their usual final margin of 20+%!
One of the major problems concerns the percentage of Affordable Housing to be delivered; an independent consultation stated that somewhere between 20% and 35% was viable.
There will be five main developers for separate areas; each submits a preliminary Outline Application which covers the overall sketch for their part – house numbers, estate layout and landscaping. This is followed a considerable time later by a Reserved Matters Application which deals with the details of the architecture, design and landscaping. A similar approach is required for the Country Park, the bridges and access from the main roads. This adds up to an enormous amount of computer screens to scan to get to the essentials of the applications.
Up to the present, The Society’s (together with our colleagues, The Northern Fringe Protection Group’s) main points of objection are :-
The provision of connectivity to the surrounding locality; good internal roads and cycle ways will be provided but there is no suggestion of more than reaching the roads and Fonnereau Way.
There are no proposals to deal with the vehicle traffic that will be generated beyond converting Westerfield Road roundabout to light controlled. Congestion along Valley/Colchester/Heath roads will worsen as will Chevalier Street.
The site is subject to pluvial flooding and the measures taken to modify this may not be adequate, considering the increased run-off / local drainage.
There are well founded concerns that the sewer provision will need a major upgrade in the near future, causing a long period of major road works on Valley Road.
The design of the vehicle/cycle/pedestrian is functional and future proofed but is entirely utilitarian. In the past, our railways designed attractive site sensitive bridges but not so in this case. Similarly, the cycle pedestrian bridge close to Westerfield Station uses steel zig-zag ramps rather than straight approaches which are difficult and dangerous to cycle around, more expensive and ugly in their rural surroundings.
The architecture of the dwellings, the street layout and the landscaping proposal in some of the recent Reserved Matter applications are redolent of a late fifties estate. They are nowhere as satisfactory as the examples we have shown the developers in Colchester and elsewhere. Further, they do not fulfil the criteria laid down in the Supplementary Planning Document which is a legally binding document to which they are required to adhere.
The most recent application suggests a mere 7.5% Affordable Housing provision.
The Country Park, at 85 hectares, larger than Christchurch Park having a lake, a sky lark area, a dog walking/socialising area and an attractive Visitor Centre with café is looking good. Landscaping plans for the site overall predicate that there will be very little tree and hedgerow loss. They have said they will replant on a two-for-one basis.
Overall, it’s great to have this new garden suburb so close to the town but it’s an opportunity lost to produce something exciting, inspiring and fit for the mid-21st century – I shan’t be here to see it finished in 2040 – but we are replacing the last contact with agriculture close to our town with something very ordinary. The devil is in the details of the design and transport; we could have had better.
I will continue to digest the applications, tender our objections cogently, concisely and unemotionally, attend relevant meetings and carry out site visits on behalf of our members. If you’d like to talk to me about any aspect of The Ipswich Garden Suburb, ring me on 07889050607 or email mikeck9@gmail.com.
I’d be pleased to hear from you.
Mike Cook
Recent planning applications relating to Ipswich Garden Suburb
Ipswich Garden Suburb. Application for a road bridge and a pedestrian/cycle bridge to serve Ipswich Garden Suburb including drainage, earthworks and ancillary works, temporary haul roads and construction compounds. The vehicle bridge is to be 150m (metres) to the east of Henley Road and consist of a 41.5m precast concrete span on concrete piles. It will carry two 2m footways, one 3m cycleway and 6m wide road. The pedestrian and cycle bridge will replace the current foot crossing west of Westerfield Road and carry a 33.4 metre pressed steel span on steel pillars. Access will be by stairs or by 1:22 ramps on either side.
Two construction roads will be needed, one exiting Henley Road between the empty plots between numbers 156 and162 Henley Road and the northerly one already constructed. There will be an increase in traffic during construction including tipper trucks and cranes. Both bridges are utilitarian and are not things of beauty. It is a shame that the footbridge with its ramps will be so intrusive. It has been suggested that straight ramps, to the 3.5 m width required, would be more attractive, safer and easier to use. We did make a note concerning the infrastructure proposals viz.: the bridges must accommodate future overhead line electrification (they do); they should be of much more interesting design rather than the boring concrete utilitarian nothingness; the pedestrian/cycling ramps should be straight or curved instead of zig-zag (which are very difficult for cyclists and ugly).
David Wilson Homes, for 147 dwellings, roads and paths, a foul water pumping station and some landscaping. The site is to the east of the current Crest Nicolson houses on Henley Road and will be largely invisible from the outside. There is a nearly straight primary road which is concrete kerbed with no trees. There is no provision of dedicated cycle paths. The foul water pump is inappropriately sited, the design of the houses totally disappointing; it’s as if they copied the boxes of seventy years ago and then shrunk them. There is a design code which has been granted planning permission and is therefore a legal document with which they must comply. Furthermore, their intention is to build the houses with minimal insulation, no solar panels and gas boilers as they may well get round the new Part L Building Regulations which came into force on June 15, 2022. The date of this application is June 14, 2022.
The Ipswich Borough Council officers are working desperately hard to get the developers to radically improve this application.
Ipswich Garden Suburb south of railway, Westerfield Road. Bellway’s application for 440 dwellings, a district centre and a primary school with access from Westerfield and Henley Roads. This will be built alongside Westerfield Road to the left as you go from Valley Road to Westerfield Station. Two accesses will lead to a total of 440 units, 33 affordable (+7.5%); over half will be three bedroomed houses but there will be 33 apartments. Their design, as far as one can judge from particularly poor elevation drawings, will represent a typical example of estates built in the mid-20th century. The new Building Regulations have made Bellway increase insulation and U-values, install solar panels and combination boilers. Most of the internal cycleways appear to be reasonable, but once more they are in isolation and are unconnected to the rest of the world. There are outline plans for two district shopping centres and a 2 hectare primary school with a playing field.
Mike Cook