Planning granted for regenerative new community on the edge of Southbourne
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Planning granted for regenerative new community on the edge of Southbourne

Published on 11 October 2023

Following seven years of collaborative work with our client Metis Homes, JTP is delighted that the redevelopment of Harris Scrapyard has secured planning approval from Chichester District Council for the transformation of the brownfield site into a new community of 103 homes, including an affordable housing provision, a children’s nursery together with extensive green infrastructure.

The new dwellings will be delivered in a mix of tenures and sizes ranging from one bedroom apartments to five bedroom family homes. The nursery will act as the feature building at the entrance of the site establishing a gateway to the new neighbourhood.

The existing breakers yard and associated site currently features extensive hard standing surfaces, scrap vehicles, storage containers, heavy machinery and poor-quality buildings. The designs will transform and return the eastern boundary of the site to its natural state in the form of a generous green corridor with associated biodiversity enhancements and recreational opportunities.

The multi-functional green space will contribute to over 2 hectares of enhanced public green space and create a soft transition to the Ham Brook and an adjacent public footpath. The improvements will offer huge ecological and recreational benefits together with sustainable drainage, resulting in the project achieving a minimum 10% biodiversity net gain.

A series of public allotments will allow residents to grow their own food and a new community orchard will reflect the landscape heritage of the area, alongside opportunities for social interaction and meeting.

Four character areas create a distinctive pattern of form and detail to complement the natural environment of the site and establish interesting spaces within the neighbourhood. The hierarchy of streets and spaces will promote an active and attractive streetscape, whilst maximising the number of homes that have frontages overlooking the landscape and green infrastructure.

The material palette will feature a combination of cream buff and brown brickwork alongside oak boarding. Housing typologies include terraces fronting the Main Spine Road and Avenue Streets, semi-detached houses fronting the primary road and mews streets and detached homes fronting both the nature’s edge of the site as well as the Avenue Streets to establish varied street scenes.

A community website has helped to engage with local people and provide information on the proposals throughout the design process. This was further supported with an in-person public consultation and virtual online exhibition to display the vision and offer the opportunity for feedback.

“
This is another fantastic planning approval to have achieved in our portfolio of work with Metis Homes. These proposals will regenerate and unlock currently underused and hard standing land with a new community of homes, extensive green infrastructure and neighbouring nursery.
Dominic Chapman, Partner at JTP