WELCOME

Welcome to this Community Planning Weekend. We’re using this weekend to discuss early plans for Birchall Garden Suburb with the community and we will use your feedback to help us shape our plans.

With a proud history of successful land stewardship across Hertfordshire, we believe land should be used responsibly. This is one of the key reasons why we are proposing Birchall Garden Suburb – a sustainable new extension to Welwyn Garden City.

Our proposals for Birchall Garden Suburb would be an appropriate way of extending the Garden City, responding to the design principles of the Garden City movement initiated by Sir Ebenezer Howard. Together these provide an opportunity to create a thriving and sustainable development to help meet the growing housing need of Welwyn Hatfield and East Herts.

The land at Cole Green and Birchall Farm is ideally located to help meet this need for the benefit of the next generation of Welwyn Garden City residents. A place where people will be proud to live, work and relax.

Welwyn Garden City was the second initiative by Ebenezer Howard and his fellow proponents to demonstrate his Garden City ideas, first developed in 1919.

Designed from the outset to combine the very best aspects from town and country living, achieving a better quality of life in a healthy place with:

• Employment opportunities • Community services • Walkable neighbourhoods • Tree lined streets • Generous public parks and green spaces• High quality, well designed homes

We are committed to continuing to deliver this vision, and to creating a new community where people will be proud to live.

THE TCPAThe Town and County Planning Association (TCPA) was founded by the supporters of Ebenezer Howard in 1899, after he published Garden Cities of Tomorrow.

Today the TCPA outlines several principles that must be delivered by development proposals aspiring to the Garden City title.

They include:• Strong vision, leadership and community engagement • Long-term stewardship of assets• Beautiful and imaginatively designed homes• Integrated and accessible transport systems• Development which enhances the natural environment• Strong local, cultural, recreational and shopping

facilities in walkable neighbourhoods.

GARDEN CITY

BOUNDARIES &LOCAL PLANS

Birchall Garden Suburb straddles the administrative boundaries of Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council and East Herts District Council.

Their respective Local Plans will indicate where major residential, commercial and industrial development should take place up to 2031.

We believe the proposed Birchall Garden Suburb development provides a very special opportunity to create a sustainable community of roughly 2,500 new homes; alongside local employment opportunities, schools, community facilities and publicly accessible green spaces and parkland.

THE SITEThe Birchall Garden Suburb site is currently washed over by the Metropolitan Green Belt to the south east of Welwyn Garden City. This Green Belt status is currently under review because of the need for new homes across both authorities.

East Herts and Welwyn Hatfield have indicated, as part of their Local Plan reviews, the potential for revised Green Belt boundaries around our site. We believe its close proximity to Welwyn Garden City and the boundary provided by the A414 and Panshanger Lane make the proposed Birchall Garden Suburb a natural extension to Welwyn Garden City.

“Beautifully and imaginatively designed homes with gardens, combining the very best of town and country living to create healthy homes in vibrant communities.” Town and Country Planning Association

Birchall Garden Suburb has the potential to provide a wide range of new homes – and we would like your views on what our priorities should be from one-bedroom apartments to five bedroom family homes. We expect to include affordable homes and could include assisted living for older residents to downsize into within their existing community.

Initial designs for the layout of Birchall Garden Suburb include an emphasis on providing more than 50% of the site as green space. High quality landscaping, parkland and the creation of green corridors would ensure links from the south of the site through to Panshanger Park to the north east.

NEW HOMES

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COMMUNITYFACILITIES

“Garden cities are places of cultural diversity and vibrancy with design contributing to sociable neighbourhoods, creating shared spaces for social interaction”Town and Country Planning Association

Birchall Garden Suburb would create a sustainable, safe new community designed as a place where people can live, learn, work, and relax, creating a true sense of community centred on the following:• Over 50% of the site allocated as green space• Local shops, cafés, and restaurants• Sports pitches• Woodland – retained where possible

and additional woodland planted

As part of the Community Planning Weekend, we would like to hear your ideas for Birchall Garden

Suburb and the priorities that local residents have for a new sustainable extension to Welwyn Garden City.

Our initial suggestions include:• Sites for two primary schools and a secondary school• Local shops and services• A community centre• Medical facilities • Sports facilities• Play areas and parkland• Offices and commercial spaces

A small number of carefully planned pitches for gypsies and travellers have been included in the plans as is required by the policies of both councils.

The above provisions are not exhaustive. Please fill in one of the comment forms with your suggestions or take part in our workshop sessions.

“Integrated and accessible transport systems – walking, cycling and public transport should be the most attractive and prioritised transport in the garden city.”Town and Country Planning Association

Set to the south east of Welwyn Garden City, Birchall Garden Suburb would benefit from excellent connections to the wider area.

CYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN ACCESS An extensive network of cycle routes, such as Cole Green Way – Route 61 of the National Cycle Network connecting Welwyn Garden City with Hertford – and public footways currently criss-cross the site. These would be enhanced and incorporated into the design providing improved public access through the site and to key destinations such as the railway station, town centre and Panshanger Park.

BUS NETWORKSBirchall Garden Suburb would be highly accessible for bus operators. Located only a few miles from the town centre, travelling into Welwyn Garden City will be safe and easy for new and existing residents.

Several bus routes currently serve the neighbouring communities and can be improved and extended to serve the new homes at Birchall Garden Suburb.

TRANSPORT CAPACITY Transport capacity around the site and further afield is being assessed in consultation with The Highways Agency and Hertfordshire County Council.

RAIL For travel further afield, rail services from Welwyn Garden City are fast and frequent to London, Cambridge and Stevenage.

TRAVELCONNECTIONS

ENVIRONMENT

“Development which enhances the natural environment – linking generous private and community gardens with wider public green space”Town and Country Planning Association

The land at Birchall Garden Suburb is currently underused. The land available allows us to create parkland, woodland and biodiversity areas which will be for the benefit of the next generation of residents.

At the centre of the current masterplan is a large landscaped parkland area, which along with existing woodland, green spaces and green corridors means that over 50% of the site is allocated to green space.

The creation of parkland and green corridors to Commonswood nature reserve and Panshanger Park would provide further opportunities for wildlife to flourish and create a pleasant place for people to live and enjoy.

MINERALEXTRACTION

Tarmac and its predecessors have a long and successful history of mineral extraction and landscape renewal in Hertfordshire. Like all natural resources, sand and gravel are scarce and they need to be used where they are available. This approach is in line with Government and Hertfordshire County Council policy.

At Birchall Garden Suburb, the intention is to balance the need to provide new homes and create an attractive environment with the need to extract minerals. As a result, Tarmac will be applying to extract only the

upper deposit of minerals in the northern part of the site at Birchall Farm, where prior mineral extraction is appropriate and will be used to create a suitable development platform for the new homes.

There is an opportunity to contribute mortar, concrete and aggregates to construct the new community. This has obvious benefits for sustainability by making use of local resources in the construction - and minimising movement of the material to offsite locations.

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PROWDIVERSIONOPTIONS

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BOUNDARY:PROPOSED LIMIT OFMINERAL EXTRACTIONBOUNDARY:PROPOSED MINERALEXTRACTION PHASE

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PROPOSED MINERAL EXTRACTION

WORKING PLAN

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This map is based upon Ordnance Survey Material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the controller of Her Majesty's Stationary Office ©Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction Infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Reproduced with the permission of the controller of HMSO. Licence No: AR 189685 .This map is based upon Ordnance Survey Material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the controller of Her Majesty's Stationary Office ©Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction Infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Reproduced with the permission of the controller of HMSO. Licence No: AR 189685 .

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Drawing based on Topographic Survey ref: BirchallGarden Suburb Survey dated 29.05.2014, OS data,and aerial photography.

NEXT STEPS

“Strong vision, leadership, and community engagement”Town and Country Planning Association

Thank you for taking the time to find out about our proposals for Birchall Garden Suburb, a sustainable new extension to Welwyn Garden City.

These workshops are part of our plans to work closely with the community, residents, businesses and stakeholders to bring forward plans that better reflect local aspirations.

If you leave your contact details we will ensure that you are sent the outcomes of this event and are invited to the next ones.

If you should have any questions after this event please contact the project team at:

Birchall Garden Suburb Teamc/o Snapdragon Consulting Unit 3.08 Chester House1-3 Brixton RoadLondonSW9 6DE

Or on 0203 176 4555 and at BGS@tarmac.com

You can also tweet us using the handle @BGSHerts