First phase of ‘village of the future’ given the green light

The first phase of ‘greener’ homes planned for the new urban village of Cheswick, near Bristol, has been given the ‘green light’ by planners. Set in leafy surroundings within two miles of Bristol city centre, Redrow’s flagship venture, in Filton, will create an entire village of environmentally-friendly homes, which go above and beyond the current building standards for sustainability.

Detailed Planning permission for the first phase of 100 homes, named Tallsticks, in this ‘village of the future’, has now been granted by South Gloucestershire Council.

Tallsticks will be the first of several smaller ‘villages’ being built by Redrow, which together will create the new larger village of Cheswick, complete with shops, places to eat and all the local amenities of an established residential community.

The masterplan for the 77-acre site to the North of Bristol allows for a mixed-use neighbourhood centre at the heart of the development, where uses could include a supermarket and other retail, restaurants, a public house, doctor’s surgery, pharmacy and children’s nursery, together with residential apartments. There is also a proposed primary school site adjacent to this area.

Tallsticks will consist of contemporary apartments, terraced homes, detached properties and three-storey villas in the north west corner of the overall site. This represents the western gateway to Cheswick, accessed via a newly constructed link road to the A4174.

The homes in Tallsticks are designed to achieve level three of the new Code for Sustainable Homes – two years ahead of targets set by Government. Under the code, all new properties are graded on a scale of one to six, in terms of their impact on the environment. Each property is marked on nine separate categories, which take into consideration everything from energy efficiency to water usage.

Redrow’s superb properties will contain a range of features that make this standard achievable including aerated flow-regulating taps, which can almost half the amount of water flow, energy efficient boilers, low fill baths and sinks, and use of thermal solar panels, which can provide hot water during periods of sunshine at a minimal cost.

Other methods of reducing carbon emissions include energy-saving light bulbs fitted as standard, water butts coupled to rainwater down pipes and cycle storage to promote greener transport use.

The first phase of homes is set to go on sale at the beginning of February 2008 and the first properties will be ready to move into next year. The whole development will be phased over a number of years.

The Cheswick site, previously owned by Hewlett Packard, gets its name from the Chaucerian word ‘Ches’ meaning to choose, and ‘Wick’ an ancient word meaning village or hamlet.

Peter Carpinelli, managing director of Redrow Homes (South West), said: “The urban village of Cheswick will be a sustainable and practical place to live work and play, with a series of green corridors which not only link places within the site, but also connect to the wider area.

“It really will be a village built for modern life in the 21st century and will suit a wide-range of homebuyers. Redrow is proud to be playing its part to help reduce carbon emissions and help homebuyers who want to live in a more sustainable community.”

The streets and open spaces have been designed to give priority to the movement of people over that of cars with a series of dedicated pedestrian and cycle routes.

As part of the overall Planning agreement for the Cheswick site, Redrow will fund a ‘Planning gain’ package worth almost £20 million, including contributions to local primary and secondary school provision, community facilities, open spaces, local library and art projects, community care, cycle/pedestrian facilities, public transport and other measures designed to reduce reliance on the private motor car, including a car club and provision of bus season tickets. Tallsticks will also include 30 affordable homes.

For more details on this new homes development, or to register interest for the planned sales launch, log on to Cheswick.redrow.co.uk.

General information about Redrow and its properties can be found online at Redrow.co.uk.