LAND NORTH OF ASHWELL STREET
Ashwell, Hertfordshire

Welcome to Manor Oak Homes’ public consultation website for our proposed new development at Land north of Ashwell Street, Ashwell, Hertfordshire.

Our Vision:

Manor Oak Homes are pleased to announce they are promoting the land north of Ashwell Street, Ashwell for a residential-led development including market and affordable housing, and areas of publicly accessible open space. Manor Oak Homes have now submitted a planning application comprising of 24 market and affordable homes to North Hertfordshire District Council .

Public Consultation Event

Stakeholder engagement is a key part of the development process. We have therefore been engaging with North Hertfordshire District Council, Hertfordshire County Council and Ashwell Parish Council amongst other stakeholders. We are also interested to hear residents’ views, ideas and concerns. We therefore held a Public Consultation Event, to inform residents and listen to feedback on our proposals.

The Public Consultation Event took place on Wednesday 16th October from 3:30pm to 7:30pm at the Parish Room, St Mary’s Church, Mill Street, Ashwell, SG7 5LY. Residents were invited to view our proposals and to make comments. Members of the development team were on hand to listen to residents ideas and concerns and to answer any questions.

All the comments received will be reviewed and considered by the project team and will be anonymised and collated into a Statement of Community Involvement which will be submitted to North Hertfordshire District Council as part of any subsequent Planning Application we submit.

For residents who are unable to attend the event, a copy of the Public Exhibition Boards are available below. Please note that the Pre-Submission Public Consultation is now closed as the application has now been submitted to North Hertfordshire District Council. 

Our Proposals:

The site is considered highly sustainable, being in close proximity to the centre of Ashwell which has a wide range of public services, amenities and public transport provision. Our Proposals have been informed by pre-application discussions with North Hertfordshire District Council, Hertfordshire County Council and Ashwell Parish Council, as well as detailed site investigations. These investigations include the following:

• Landscape Assessment
• Phase 1 Ground Investigation
• Archaeological Assessment
• Heritage Impact Assessment
• Vernacular Design Appraisal
• Preliminary Ecology Appraisal
• Arboriculture Assessment
• Transport and Access Investigations
• Flood Risk and Drainage Assessment
• Topographical Survey

The conclusions of these key investigations are used to inform a constraints and opportunities plan, which is used by the architect in conjunction with information provided by the North Herfordshire District Council to draw up a constraints-led residential scheme. This methodology ensures that any environmental impacts are mitigated, and that the scheme responds positively to its environment. It is critical that the scheme makes the best use of the land to provide housing that is suitable for the location and meets local needs.

Whilst we undertake all the recommended investigations using qualified specialists at an early stage of the design process, we do not profess to know everything about the site and its surroundings, which is why Public Consultation and stakeholder engagement is critical to the design process. We are therefore keen to hear your views, concerns and ideas on matters such as Public Open Space, Housing Mix, Connectivity and Affordable Home Provision.

Next Steps

Following a review of the feedback from the Public Consultation Event and North Hertfordshire District Council, we have now submitted a planning application. There will be a further opportunity to comment on our proposals on North Hertfordshire District Councils website, prior to the Council determining whether the application should be approved.

Planning

As part of developing our detailed proposals, we would like feedback from local people about what this future environment should look like and how it will best fit in with your community and your surrounding areas.

We would like to hear your views on areas such as:
– Public open space
– Broad mix of homes
– Footpaths
– Affordable homes

Formal Consultation has not begun, however we would still be glad to hear your views on our initial proposals.