Newlands Park, Cullompton

The Brief

GTH’s Planning team was approached by a long standing client to provide planning consultancy input and project management for the creation of a new mixed-use hub at Newlands Park, Cullompton. The Team at GTH worked alongside local Architectural company, Grange Architects, to deliver a new commercial and residential hub on an area of underutilised land within the Business Park.

The Result

Located within the Cullompton Urban Expansion Allocation, GTH and Grange Architecture assembled a detailed pre-application enquiry package to introduce the scheme to the Local Planning Authority (LPA). Following onsite discussions and a positive response from LPA, in which the mixed-use hub was encouraged as part of the offerings to be made available within the allocation, the team set about preparing a comprehensive planning application package to include;

- A Planning Statement, Climate Change Statement, Sustainability Statement and an Air Quality Assessment. Prepared by GTH;

- A full set of planning drawings, masterplan and a Design and Access Statement. Prepared by Grange Architects; and

- A comprehensive suite of technical documents and specialist reports including, ecology surveys and Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) Assessments and enhancements, a Flood Risk and Drainage Strategy, an Arboricultural Assessment and Noise Survey. All prepared by a specialist team of consultants working closely with GTH and Grange Architecture throughout.

The application posed a number of challenges, namely, achieving an appropriate and sustainable drainage strategy, delivering a 10% gain in BNG and ensuring that acoustic outputs were sufficiently low enough to not impact the first floor residential uses. Through a number of meetings with the project team, the LPA agreed to a strategy involving the discharge of surface and foul water to a nearby watercourse, via a new Package Treatment Plant (PTP) and that a 10% uplift in BNG could be provided off-site, on land within the applicant’s ownership. Whilst the retail units could be provided as a shell with specific acoustic requirement, allowing future occupiers the scope to fit the unit to their specification, whilst protecting the amenity of the residential uses.

The breadth of knowledge, expertise and teamwork across the entire project team allowed for the application to be approved under delegated powers. Providing not only eight new high-quality dwellings, but also a valuable new addition to the successful and expanding Newlands Park Business Park, whilst supporting the vision of the Cullompton Urban Expansion area. Whilst end users of the three retail units have yet to be decided, it is understood that they will be offered to local businesses.