Site feasibility
How to test if there are suitable, available and deliverable locations and sites for a garden community.
You can find suitable locations for your project in number of ways:
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use the Local Plan process to show public, landowners, and promoters that the local authority is exploring the potential of a garden community in the area . You can do this with a call for sites search
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work with neighbouring authorities to see if there are opportunities to work together to respond to housing need
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use the housing and economic land availability assessment (HELAA) to identify potential site options. You can find information on the HELAA process on the GOV.UK website
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review sites being actively promoted by a landowner and/ or developer
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do research to identify locations suitable for a large scale garden community development
Consider the following when assessing if a location and site is appropriate for your development.
Suitability
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opportunities to accommodate the scale of development required
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role and function in the context of the local settlement hierarchy
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the opportunities for development with existing or planned infrastructure - like rail stations and other major transport links
You’ll also need to understand:
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the physical and environmental limitations of the site and its context - like access, contamination, flood, location of infrastructure and utilities, environmental constraints, and how feasible is it to address these.
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potential impacts of development, like effects on landscape, ecology and biodiversity and the scope for mitigating these and making net environmental gains
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planning constraints such as green belt designations
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proximity and nature of neighbouring uses
Availability
You need to understand:
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what the landownership and promoter’s position is
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the level of interest the landowner(s) has in developing a garden community on their land
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the delivery record of developers or landowners involved in respect of large scale complex developments
Deliverability
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identify any factors that can prevent the development coming forward
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check for any physical, legal, planning or other barriers which can prevent or delay development of the site
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confirm your viability testing supports delivery of the quality expectations of the garden community and the infrastructure and services it needs to deliver
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make sure your timescales for delivery align with the need for local housing delivery