A high-level overview of the Manydown outline planning application
June 2020
Manydown land
Manydown is one of the largest residential-led developments in the south east on land in public ownership.
Land acquisition
- In February 1996, in recognition of the potential strategic importance of the Manydown land, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and Hampshire County Council entered into a 999-year lease with the Manydown Company Ltd.
- Its scale and location make it a logical place for a significant element of Basingstoke’s necessary growth over the current Local Plan timescale – and potentially beyond.
Outline application for Manydown
- The northern part of the land was allocated in the Basingstoke and Deane Local Plan 2011 to 2029
- Following extensive public engagement, an outline planning application for Manydown was submitted by the councils in March 2017.
- The outline planning application sets out the principles of delivering up to 3,520 homes plus good amenities and robust infrastructure.
The development timeline so far
- June 2014 – Vision of Manydown adopted
- 2014 – Northern Manydown land allocated in the Basingstoke and Deane Local Plan 2011 to 2019
- 2016 – The 10 Manydown principles were adopted
- December 2016 – Manydown Supplementary Planning Document developed by the borough council as local planning authority
- March 2017 – The councils as landowners submitted an outline planning application for the northern part of Manydown
- July 2018 – Updates to the outline application were submitted by the councils as landowners
- January 2019 – Further updates to the outline application were submitted by the councils as landowners
- December 2019 – Additional updates to the outline application were submitted by the councils as landowners
- 8 July 2020 – Councillors on Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s Development Control Committee took the decision to approve the outline planning application
The vision
Manydown will be developed over a number of years, guided by an adopted vision and 10 overarching principles.
Vision
An overall vision was agreed to make Manydown a great place to live and work, with environmentally-friendly homes and a design principle of ‘walkable neighbourhoods’, with good public transport, pedestrian and cycle links.
The picture on the right shows an artist’s impression of how a main square could look in Manydown. It is from the original vision document.
For more information, read the ‘Vision for Manydown’ that was adopted in 2014.
Principles
Manydown will be designed to last for decades and centuries to come.
It is therefore important that overarching principles are set to guide the evolution of Manydown through the planning and masterplanning stage, in the selection of strategic and other partners, through its design and construction, and ultimately into its everyday life.
For more information, see the webpage for the 10 Manydown principles.
The 10 principles are:
- a place of excellence
- shaping Manydown together: engagement and strong partnerships
- homes and opportunities for all: a place to start and a place to stay
- unique identity: coherence and identity
- good neighbours: connections, mobility and new possibilities
- places and spaces for community life
- economic vitality: a place to work as well as to live
- greenery everywhere
- long-life economics and stewardship
- resilience, adaptability and environmental sustainability.
Masterplanning through community engagement
Community engagement over many years has informed the development of a masterplan for the northern part of the site.
There were four stages of consultation in the development of the illustrative masterplan:
Stage one: Initial discussions – October 2015
Stage two: Community design event – November 2015
Stage three: Masterplan consultation – February and March 2015
Stage four: Pre-application consultation – September and October 2016
This consultation led to the development of an illustrative masterplan for the northern part of the site, which was submitted as part of the outline planning application in March 2017.
Outline planning application for Manydown
Following the development of an illustrative masterplan for the northern part of the site, an outline planning application was submitted in March 2017.
Scope of the outline planning application
The outline planning application for Manydown sets out:
- proposals for land use and number of homes;
- parameter plans showing key information on movement, land uses, strategic open spaces and maximum building heights;
- an illustrative masterplan of the proposed development; and,
- the main access points onto the A339, B3400 Worting Road and Winklebury Way/Roman Road.
The outline planning application sets out a structured planning delivery strategy based on increasing levels of detail being agreed with the local planning authority and statutory consultees for each element of the proposals.
The proposals within the outline planning application are supported by various documents including:
• an environmental statement;
• a transport assessment; and,
• a design and access statement, which includes the illustrative masterplan.
These documents are available through the borough council’s planning webpages for Manydown.
Proposals for Manydown
Combining the best features from Hampshire villages and towns with contemporary sustainable design based on ‘garden town’ principles, the proposals include:
3,200 homes, up to a maximum of 3,520, with 40% affordable homes delivered through a range of tenure options to meet local need
safe and well-signposted cycle routes supporting the wider cycling strategy for the borough
a range of community buildings to provide meeting spaces and venues for different activities
business and commercial uses including space for shops, cafés, restaurants and offices
safe and well-signposted cycle routes supporting the wider cycling strategy for the borough
public open space including natural green space, formal sports facilities, allotments and play areas
two primary schools and land for a secondary school
open green spaces for people to enjoy, as well as trees planted along streets and areas that can support a variety of natural habitats, are part of the vision for creating an attractive community where people will want to live
a new country park with mature and historic woodlands, meadows and farmland, with a visitor hub including a café, education spaces, produce and activity gardens and a woodland-themed play area
a local footpath network supporting the concept of ‘walkable neighbourhoods’ so that homes are in walking distance of a centre with local facilities
The illustrative masterplan
Informed by public feedback, the illustrative masterplan forms part of the outline application for Manydown.
How public feedback informed the masterplan
The outline planning application was submitted in March 2017 following extensive public involvement in drawing up a masterplan. This included a community design event in 2015, which was followed by pre-application consultation at three events in 2016.
The public feedback informed the outline planning application in a number of ways, including:
- keeping a green space next to Roman Road
- providing public open space within a five-minute walk of homes
- having fewer but larger and more usable green open spaces
- keeping a landscape edge along Worting Road
- locating a primary and secondary school together, with the primary schools located off minor roads rather than on the main street but close to centres
- incorporating cycle, pedestrian and public transport routes
- creating market squares
- having a lower number of homes in visually sensitive areas
- creating areas with different characters and architectural approaches.
The illustrative masterplan
The illustrative masterplan below is provided to demonstrate how the principles established in the outline planning application could be interpreted and should not be considered as the final layout.
Statutory consultation stages and application updates
Since the submission of the application, engagement has continued with statutory consultees and the public to inform the proposals for Manydown.
Statutory feedback
Throughout the planning process, responses from statutory consultees have continued to inform updates and have focused on areas including:
- highways, which has informed detailed work with the local highway authority to refine the movement proposals for Manydown and each of the junctions potentially requiring improvement to reduce the overall highways impact of Manydown;
- biodiversity and ecology; and,
- density and building heights.
Public comments – and how they have informed the application
The majority of comments were received from residents of Winklebury and Rooksdown, with responses focused on:
- the inclusion of a Gypsy and Traveller site. In response, key principles and an illustrative example of a site layout was publicised by the project team.
- the proposed banning of right turns at the junction between the A339, Rooksdown Lane and Ibworth Lane, which was addressed in the updates to the transport assessment in December 2019.
- the original A339 roundabout design and a potential loss of woodland, which was revised to a double roundabout option.
- general traffic concerns and the potential for rat running through residential roads which has informed the development and evolution of the proposed highway and movement improvements.
Other public comments focused on air pollution, pressure on infrastructure, construction traffic impacts, cycling proposals, visual impact, light pollution, HGV traffic, scale and density, sewerage provision, parking provision, impacts on heritage, and environmental concerns.
Updates to the Statement of Community Involvement include a summary of feedback from the public, parish councils and community organisations and responses to key issues.
Updates to the Statement of Community Involvement are available on the borough council’s planning webpages at www.basingstoke.gov.uk/manydownplanning.
Youth engagement
An ongoing programme of youth engagement will continue to help inform the proposals for Manydown.
Placemaking workshops – January 2016
Engaging with pupils in primary and secondary schools around the borough, the workshops focused on understanding young people’s views on ‘what makes a great place’.
The feedback made it clear that young people wanted a safe, diverse and friendly community at Manydown.
Design sessions – August 2018
Young people between the ages of 11 and 18 spent the week working at local architecture practice Ayre Chamberlain Gaunt, based in Basing View.
After being introduced to the project and completing activities to engage them with urban design and masterplanning, the young people developed ideas and designs for the layouts of various areas of Manydown, including the proposed 250-acre country park.
Country park workshops – August 2019
Aged between seven and 18, Buckskin and Bishops Green residents took part in sessions thinking about features they would like for the country park while considering the themes of wildlife and landscape, sustainability and connected and healthy communities.
Young people felt that accessibility, free entry and paths for walking and cycling were important. However, they did not think that Wi-Fi should be available everywhere to allow visitors to fully appreciate the wildlife and plants.
For more information about the programme of youth engagement, see the ‘Young opinions’ webpage on the Manydown project website at www.manydownbasingstoke.co.uk/young-opinions.
Benefits during construction phases
- Average annual net additional gross value added impact generated by the scheme during the construction phase would total some £15.4 million (£12.2 million in present values).
- During the construction period the scheme could generate 393 full-time equivalent jobs.
Benefits following construction
- Based on current rates, the new housing would be expected to provide additional council tax receipts of £4.1 million per annum, along with a New Homes Bonus of £16.5 million.
- It is estimated that the new households associated with the scheme could generate £46.1 million of retail expenditure and £12.1 of leisure expenditure per annum.
- Accommodation for 5,530 working-age residents, of which approximately 4,800 would be economically active and 4,560 would be in employment (on the basis of current levels of economic activity).
- Once the retail and office floorspace is occupied, the scheme could generate £19.9 million (£12.7 million discounted) of net gross value added per annum.
- Once fully occupied, the scheme could create around 276 net additional full-time equivalent operational jobs at the county level.