Designated as one of the Government’s growth areas, Ashford is set to increase in size by circa 30,000 new homes over the next decade. Set against this backdrop the practice was appointed by Hallam Land Management to assess the feasibility of development at Court Lodge, to the south of Ashford, and subsequently to lead the masterplanning and to coordinate the production of an Environmental Impact Assessment in support of the site through Ashford’s LDF core strategy enquiry, through to a planning application for the first phase of development.
The site comprises a high quality mixed use development for up to 2000 houses, over two phases, a school and community facilities, a new high street and a business enterprise hub on green field land adjoining the southern edge of Ashford. Key elements of the design include the integration into the developement of the White Water Dyke and its associated flood plain, a Roman road and a mature landscape structure of trees and hedgerows. Other key issues included the integration of the site with the district of Stanhope to the north, an existing area which experiences significant levels of deprivation and which is lacking in green space provision and links to the existing communities of Stubbs cross and Kingsnorth Village.
