This week finally saw outline permission granted for a new 250-home estate on 12 hectares of undulating farmland immediately to the west of Bromyard, Herefordshire.

Though it has taken eight years for developer Vistry’s Hardwick Bank proposal to get this far, there will still have to be a further planning application setting out the details of the houses’ design and the public space in between.

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But there are already a few definites.

  1. Half of the homes are due to be “affordable” of different tenure types, including affordable rent (45 homes), shared ownership (30) and affordable first homes (25).
    They will be mixed up with the open-market houses, so there will be “no segregation of tenures”, Vistry’s plans say.
  2. Fourteen of the affordable properties will be flats, while six of the open-market homes will be bungalows.
  3. There will be a “main street” winding northeast from a new junction with A44, around which housing density will be greater, with a “more informal” layout branching out to the north.
  4. It will be built out in five phases, each of around 50 homes, with the final phase being the furthest to the northeast.
  5. A sustainable transport strategy has set out how the estate will integrate with the rest of the town to allow easy access on foot and by bike. All houses are to have secure cycle storage.
  6. There will be extensive public open space, particularly in the middle of the estate, with allotments, a new traditional orchard, wildflower grassland and hedgerows, along with water-retaining basins intended to prevent the development adding to flood risk lower down.
  7. There will also be bird and bat boxes on houses and trees, coupled with a nature-sensitive lighting strategy and “dedicated provision for reptiles”.
  8. Part of the approved site includes space for the neighbouring St Peter’s Primary School to expand.
  9. Details of the financial contribution from the developer to local education and health are to be finalised within six months.