Outline consent 3 March 2020

Highbrook View at Harry Stoke in north Bristol is a fantastic example of our ability and determination to overcome many of the frequent challenges experienced in land promotion through the planning system.

• Green Belt site, successfully promoted through the South Gloucestershire Local Plan and allocated for development.

• 1,617 new homes, with supporting infrastructure including a railway crossing, a primary school, shops and local centre, and a community facility.

• Cross-boundary working, delivered in South Gloucestershire, accommodating unmet need from Bristol.

• Turning constraints into opportunities, including the removal of high voltage power lines, noise associated with motorways and railway lines, delivery of major new infrastructure, flood plain remodelling, protected species and substantial earthwork remodelling.

• Multiple landownerships and an equalisation strategy for landowners working with Crest Nicholson and management of third party landowners to secure planning permission first and in a fair way through the planning process.

• A successful public sector partnership, between South Gloucestershire Council as landowner alongside Crest Nicholson's land control.

The masterplan responds to the urban environment, with higher density development seeking to shield bedrooms and gardens from the noise associated with the motorway and road networks. It positions the school so that it can be delivered early within the development and the local centre near the key road infrastructure to give it the best chance of commercial success, negotiated and debated with the local planning authority to avoid a formulaic tendency to position all of the facilities within the centre. The opportunity was taken to reduce flood risk downstream in the neighbouring community, by retaining water in ponds on the development, whilst simultaneously releasing more land for development.