Chelmsford AAP
Delivering infrastructure within an Area Action Plan for North East Chelmsford
Chelmsford borough was is one of the main foci for growth under the ambitious plans of in the East of England RSS. The Council saw the potential to deliver high levels of housing growth as having the best prospects of being achieved through a major urban extension of North East Chelmsford. The North Chelmsford AAP, promotes an urban extension to the town of some 4,000 homes and 64,000m² of employment space. The draft AAP required greater understanding of infrastructure needs and demonstration of the viability of such development. This was particularly important given the presence of a live planning application to deliver the requirement of the AAP on part of the identified area.
Our assessment is a key part of the AAP evidence base, demonstrating that the plan is deliverable. The work involved a detailed interrogation of all the infrastructure providers’ requirements. RTP worked with stakeholders to fully understand the individual needs, costs, funding sources and programming of all the main items, which include major road works and a railway station. ‘Chelmsford Tomorrow’, the local delivery mechanism, is charged with delivering the Integrated Development Plan and will oversee the delivery of the necessary infrastructure.
A key part of the assessment was to calculate developer contributions, which are estimated to be some £90m; this equates to an average contribution of £22,000 per dwelling. The contributions will be phased in line with the planning and delivery of the requisite infrastructure. The report considers this in relation to the viability of the development as whole, as the aim is to achieve a physically and socially sustainable development on a scale commensurate with NCAAP aspirations, without compromising other objectives. The assessment assumed 35% affordable housing as part of the appraisal. The team used a bespoke residual land value model to estimate the viability of the overall planned development.
The AAP was approved for submission to the Secretary of State in June 2010 and is expected to be examined in early 2011
Chelmsford borough was is one of the main foci for growth under the ambitious plans of in the East of England RSS. The Council saw the potential to deliver high levels of housing growth as having the best prospects of being achieved through a major urban extension of North East Chelmsford. The North Chelmsford AAP, promotes an urban extension to the town of some 4,000 homes and 64,000m² of employment space. The draft AAP required greater understanding of infrastructure needs and demonstration of the viability of such development. This was particularly important given the presence of a live planning application to deliver the requirement of the AAP on part of the identified area.
Our assessment is a key part of the AAP evidence base, demonstrating that the plan is deliverable. The work involved a detailed interrogation of all the infrastructure providers’ requirements. RTP worked with stakeholders to fully understand the individual needs, costs, funding sources and programming of all the main items, which include major road works and a railway station. ‘Chelmsford Tomorrow’, the local delivery mechanism, is charged with delivering the Integrated Development Plan and will oversee the delivery of the necessary infrastructure.
A key part of the assessment was to calculate developer contributions, which are estimated to be some £90m; this equates to an average contribution of £22,000 per dwelling. The contributions will be phased in line with the planning and delivery of the requisite infrastructure. The report considers this in relation to the viability of the development as whole, as the aim is to achieve a physically and socially sustainable development on a scale commensurate with NCAAP aspirations, without compromising other objectives. The assessment assumed 35% affordable housing as part of the appraisal. The team used a bespoke residual land value model to estimate the viability of the overall planned development.
The AAP was approved for submission to the Secretary of State in June 2010 and is expected to be examined in early 2011
Further information
