PROJECTS
Project: Up to 1,035 dwellings with neighbourhood centre, primary school, employment land and sports hub
Location: Cranbrook, Devon
Client: Redrow Homes Ltd and Carden Group
Services: Transport Planning
Treasbeare Garden Village is part of the planned expansion of Cranbrook, a new town in Devon being built out in phases. The Treasbeare phase comprises up to 1,035 dwellings, a neighbourhood centre, a 420-place primary school, 10.25 hectares of employment land and a multi-use sports hub. Together with the adjacent Bluehayes area, Treasbeare will form the new western gateway to Cranbrook, welcoming residents and visitors to the whole settlement. Calibro was appointed by Redrow Homes and Carden Group to provide transport planning advice for the outline planning application.
What made it complex
Treasbeare accounts for less than a quarter of the total planned expansion of Cranbrook. The cumulative effects of the wider expansion did not technically fall within Calibro’s scope, but they did fall within the transport picture the planning case had to address. Multiple development phases, inter-related planning policies and coordination across separate programmes each shaped the argument. The topography added a specific constraint: London Road, the key route into the western approach of Cranbrook, runs approximately three metres below the site level in places. Junction geometry at the main access point had to resolve a level differential that conventional approaches could not accommodat
We recognised from the outset that the elements of a growing town are intrinsically linked, and that transport decisions made for one phase become constraints or opportunities for the next. We took a holistic view of the whole town’s expansion rather than the fraction of it within our formal scope, accounting for cumulative effects and ensuring the placemaking ambitions for the western gateway held across all phases. The placemaking agenda required well-defined streets and connections that would make Cranbrook navigable as it grew. On the London Road junction, we recommended moving away from the conventional solution that the topography would not support. The alternative resolved the level differential and created a sense of arrival at the gateway that matched the design intent for the settlement.
Outline planning permission was granted for the Treasbeare phase. The transport assessment addressed the cumulative effects of the wider Cranbrook expansion, giving the planning case a coherence that extended beyond its immediate scope. The junction solution on London Road was adopted, resolving the level differential in a way that served both the access requirement and the design ambition for the town’s western gateway.
“Calibro’s logical approach to seeing constraints as an opportunity assists in achieving a desirable solution that is communicated clearly and robustly to ensure the projects are driven forward successfully.”
Andy Cattermole | Senior Planning Manager | Redrow Homes PLC
I’ve been impressed with the energy that Calibro has brought to this project. From first getting under the skin of emerging policies and identifying place-driven solutions to the access strategy – all have allowed us to put together a unique offer in the context of Cranbrook.
They’ve broken down the problems and solutions into bitesize chunks which has made my life easier in making decisions that protect value in the project. I certainly feel we had the right consultants on this project.
