Telford Millennium Community
Copyright to Camargue PR 2006
Background
Jointly owned by English Partnerships and the Borough of Telford and Wrekin, Telford Millennium Community, known as ‘The Village’, was the fifth Millennium Community to be identified. The site, originally a 35 ha brownfield site north-west of Telford town centre, had a history of old mineshafts, colliery spoil, and a disused golf driving range, leaving the area with a legacy of interesting ecological and topographical issues. Most of the site had been left fallow for many years and some areas have become locally important habitats for wildlife.
Telford Millennium Community will have:
- around 675 homes and some live/work units
- some small offices and retail
- leisure services
- enhanced local park and playing fields
- designed in association with the Parish Council
- community centre for the wider area.
A nature conservation area is proposed, with a learning and play space for children.
The vision for Telford Millennium Community is to create a modern, flourishing neighbourhood in which people can socialise, work and learn – as well as demonstrating the latest thinking in sustainable housing design.
Plans for Telford Millennium Community include:
- protecting habitats for valuable wildlife on the site (including protected great-crested newts)
- major land forming works re-using colliery spoil
- building smart houses that integrate ICT into the home and access to community information
- home zones that consider the needs of pedestrians equally with cars
- the establishment of a Partnership Group to undertake detailed consultation on the design of community facilities
- the formation of a group of local people to hold community.
Current status
Taylor Wimpey is lead developer for the site with Beth Johnson Housing Group as Registered Social Landlord partner. After a series of extensive public consultation events, a detailed master plan was developed that took account of the varied ecological issues. The master plan established three character areas to provide varying types of housing across the site to honour the existing site conditions.
Remediation has created more southerly facing slopes to enable greater natural day lighting into homes and a Sustainable Urban Drainage (SUDs) system. This is almost complete with infrastructure works ongoing until spring 2008.
 |
Download a factsheet on Telford Millennium Community from the Publications page. |
The Site
This now has new entrances, as well as a new square, which offers an attractive focal point for the western area of the development. Bryant Homes started on site in March 2007, with the first phase of 103 homes now being constructed that will be a mix of housing types and tenures. This phase will include new offices for one of our partners, Beth Johnson Housing Group, which is involved with the long-term community stewardship of the whole site.
Community Centre
For partners of the Telford Millennium Community and Ketley Parish Council, projects that provide community facilities for existing and new residents are a key priority. The 1960s Parkside Community Centre has been demolished to make way for alternative facilities better able to meet the needs of the extended community.
Proposals have also been put to residents for the former playing fields which could include new seating areas, planting and a new multi-purpose pitch creating a new ‘park’. In advance of this, a new play area opened in August 2006.
Ketley residents and youth groups will be invited to get involved during 2008 with designing a new neighbourhood Area for play which could include for instance, a skate park, BMX track and/or multipurpose games areas.
All this activity is working towards the vision for Telford Millennium Community to create a modern, flourishing neighbourhood in which people can socialise, work and learn – as well as demonstrating the latest thinking in sustainable housing design.