A NEW neighbourhood including 1,000 new homes, a community hub and a primary school is being proposed on green fields to the south-west of Keynsham.
Barwood Land wants to develop a 70-hectare site (173 acres) east of Whitchurch village, off the A37 and Queen Charlton Lane.
The company says: “We have been very careful to retain a strong physical separation with Whitchurch Village while ensuring the scheme’s benefits are for all residents, new and existing.”
The proposed properties would be of between one to five bedrooms, with a “significant proportion of affordable homes.”
Land would be earmarked for a new primary school, including potential pre-school provision, a multi-purpose community hub, and community and commercial spaces for potential healthcare, shops, and workspace.
Barwood Land says there would also be improvements to bus services and active travel, as well as significant highways investment.
Half the site would remain open, accessible, green space, protected in perpetuity, say the developers.
The main traffic access points would be from the south, where the A37 meets Queen Charlton Lane, via a new signalised junction, and from the north via Staunton Lane, with changes to the A37/Staunton Lane signals to improve traffic flow.
Most of the land covered by the scheme is the current home of HorseWorld.
The charity says: “HorseWorld’s Board of Trustees has confirmed its support for progressing the “East of Whitchurch” proposals through the planning process, recognising that a future land sale is the only viable way to secure the charity’s long-term future. It would enable HorseWorld to relocate to a new site nearby where it can care for more horses and support more young people.
“If HorseWorld had the means to expand and invest in its current site, it would – but it does not have that option, and so this is the only realistic way to secure and grow its impact.”
Barwood Land says its proposals will help Bath & North East Somerset Council meet the housing targets in its emerging Local Plan in “a sustainable location.”
Attendance at a consultation event in Whitchurch on June 24 was affected by the heatwave, so a second event will be held on July 14, 3pm-7pm, Whitchurch United Reformed Church, 24 Bristol Road, Whitchurch.
Barwood Lane says it will assess consultation feedback before submitting its outline planning application to B&NES Council. It says the community will be consulted again on any future detailed application.
Image: Barwood Land/Google Earth
Whitchurch plan for 1,000 homes and a school
