Plans to build 48,000 new homes in the country’s first ever ‘garden villages’ include major upgrades to local transport infrastructure, Transport Network has been told.
The 14 villages in areas such as Devon, Derbyshire, Cornwall and Cumbria, will number between 1,500 and 10,000 new homes and will have access to a £6m fund over the next two years to support their delivery.
The Department for Communities and Local Government said the money would be used to unlock the full capacity of sites, providing funding for additional resources and expertise to accelerate development and avoid delays.
The planned garden villages include long-standing projects such as Long Marston Airfield in Stratford-on-Avon and Welborne in Hampshire, both of which originated under the Labour government’s eco-towns programme.
The 3,500 home Long Marston project has previously attracted controversy over its impact on local transport provision. Plans include a relief road to Stratford on Avon, 13 hectares of employment land, a village centre, new schools, and 77 hectares of open space including a Country Park.
Stratford-on-Avon District Council leader Chris Saint said: ‘Garden Village status will help ensure a vibrant new community at Long Marston Airfield that balances the need for new homes with the provision of necessary infrastructure in a green setting.’
Fareham Borough Council said Welborne Garden Village would comprise 6,000 new homes, shops, employment space, new schools, community facilities and plenty of outdoor space.
‘Importantly it will also be supported by infrastructure that links it to Fareham Town Centre and the improvement of junction 10 of the M27 to make it an "all moves" junction [where drivers can join and leave in both directions].’
A spokeswoman for the council said it anticipated that the motorway junction improvements would be financed by a combination of developer and public sector funding, with £14.9m awarded as part of the Solent local growth deal.
Other transport improvements will include an extension of the existing rapid transit bus service linking Welborne to the railway station/Fareham Town Centre and improvements to cycling provision and the local highway network.
The Government also announced its support for three new garden towns, in Aylesbury, Taunton and Harlow & Gilston, with and a further £1.4m of funding to support their delivery.
Together with the seven garden towns already announced, these new garden settlements could provide almost 200,000 new homes across the country.
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