It was great working with the team at Urban and Rural again, this time on a scheme for 28 dwellings outside the settlement boundary in Dover.
It has certainly been a long tail scheme, with our involvement in it spanning several years, taking the project through a successful High Court Challenge, subsequent successful planning appeal, and now through to this latest approval for reserved matters.
Making the case for development on a challenging site
One of the key issues surrounding the project was its location on land formally designated as open space. However, the site had been left to run wild and presented no benefits as open space land. The proposals for development sought to provide much needed market and affordable housing in the area and in the process would provide a children’s play area and public footpaths to make the remaining open space usable by the public and much more inviting.
This successful scheme will provide 28 homes, with a mix of 2,3 and 4 bed units over 2 and 2.5 storey heights. The housing mix accords with identified need for housing in the area.
Planning strategy, collaboration and biodiversity
Due to the complexities on site, a collaborative design process informed by specialist surveys and reports was crucial. And indeed, the appeal process was important in establishing that the proposed 28 units could be achieved on site without having an adverse impact on the character and appearance of the surrounding area or the residential amenities of the existing residential properties. This was due to a combination of factors, including, separation distances, retention of tree boundaries and inclusion of significant landscaping.
Furthermore, biodiversity enhancement was a key factor at the reserved matters stage and will include the provision of a wildlife pond, the use of native planting for the supplementary landscape buffer, the use of bat and bird boxes, hedgehog houses and habitat piles.
Planning for development success – long term vision
This is a well designed scheme undertaken by a local and very experienced architect with a clear understanding of the local vernacular and a desire to create developments of character. The collaborative nature of the project has included specialists in biodiversity and landscape to ensure that the character of the area and biodiversity are enhanced. This is not only a technically compliant scheme, but one which has carefully considered its context and the wider community, providing a high quality design which contributes to the character of the area as well as providing a mix of homes to meet existing needs.
Our involvement in this project has been longstanding and we are delighted that it will now come to fruition.
About us
We are Plainview Planning – a solutions orientated, experienced and knowledgeable team of planning consultants. If you need professional and informed planning support with your development project, then contact our team via enquiries@plainview.co.uk, to see how we can best assist you, providing the site address and a brief overview of your project. You can also submit your site via our Landmark Page. We value your privacy and any information which you provide will not be shared outside of our company and will only be used in relation to your enquiry.
Image source: Urban and Rural 2023