Lawley, Telford
Background
Lawley, in Telford, is a groundbreaking urban development, setting standards on how a large sustainable community can be designed, created and integrated with an existing town. It will contribute to the urban renaissance through its role as a national example of best practice in sustainable growth and act a model for the design of other urban extensions across the country.
It is the largest housing development of its type in England and will be made up of four neighbourhoods:
- Newdale Valley
- Lawley Village
- Lawley Bank
- Newdale
All neighbourhoods are based around Lawley Square, which will act as a central transport, social and shopping hub.
The development is being built on a 70 ha site in Telford, which is primarily brownfield land. It will comprise some 3,300 homes along with offices, restaurants, bars, a primary school, parkland and shops. A quarter of the homes will be affordable housing, split between shared ownership and social rented to attract people from a wide range of incomes, ages and households. The new community will account for about a fifth of the new homes that Telford needs over the next decade.
Design codes
Using the Enquiry by Design collaborative design process – where relevant people and organisations come together to agree a concept for a development - means that the development has been designed with future residents and businesses in mind and has resulted in a set of design codes. These codes provide a flexible development framework and have been produced to ensure consistency of built quality that meets the community’s needs. Drawn up after intensive public workshops held over a two year period, the codes cover issues as diverse as the amount of space needed for bins to how far people should have to walk to local shops, parks and the new school.
Local people have played a major part in shaping Lawley’s foundations, and they will continue to have a big say in how it develops. Together with the developers and the Borough Council, we want them to have a genuine sense of pride and ownership in the community they’ve helped create.
English Partnerships has appointed George Wimpey UK, Persimmon Homes and Barratt Homes to develop the site, following a comprehensive procurement process. Together with other partners, the developers will select an affordable housing provider and work with us to put in place measures to secure the long term stewardship of the area.
Current status
A series of presentations, public meetings, design workshops and exhibitions were attended by hundreds of community members in autumn 2003.
The outline planning application was submitted to the Borough Council in August 2004 and, following approval at the Council’s Plans Board in November 2004 and subsequent acceptance by the Government Office for the West Midlands, the outline consent was issued in October 2005.
The Development Agreement between the developers (George Wimpey, Barratt and Persimmon) and English Partnerships was signed in October 2005.
In Phase One of the scheme, the three developers are building 350 homes and contemporary apartments over 3 sites, with residents moving in on a weekly basis and four show homes open to the public. 25 per cent of the homes will be affordable and will be operated by Beth Johnson and Bournville Village Trust, who will also undertake the long term stewardship of the development.
Meanwhile, the primary infrastructure works are well underway and ahead of schedule. In all, the Lawley development will take approximately 15 years to complete.
A series of newsletters aimed at keeping the local community informed about and involved with the development at Lawley is available to download from the Publications page.