Tewkesbury Garden Communities Progress Update

As we reflect on the achievements of 2024 and look forward to the opportunities and challenges ahead in 2025 and beyond, I am pleased with the progress of the Tewkesbury Garden Communities programme. This annual report highlights the significant strides we have made in delivering high-quality, affordable homes that adhere to the principles of the Garden Communities Charter.

The independent review conducted in 2023 provided invaluable insights and recommendations, all of which are being addressed and most are highlighted in this report. Our commitment to these findings underscores our dedication to creating sustainable, well-planned communities that enhance the quality of life for all residents.

The review emphasized the importance of a coordinated approach to development, mitigating the risks of piecemeal or poor development. This aligns with our commitment to delivering high-quality, affordable homes that meet the principles of the Garden Communities Charter. One of the key recommendations was to create an identity for the “garden town” as it was then. That it should have its own identity and not be treated as an extension of Tewkesbury town. We very soon created the new identity of “Tewkesbury Garden Communities” – a series of connected communities with a shared supporting infrastructure.

In 2024, our team has worked tirelessly to ensure that our approach to development is both strategic and coordinated. We firmly believe that a well-planned, cohesive strategy is far superior to the fragmented, piecemeal applications that can arise from an uncoordinated planning process. This method not only preserves the integrity of our communities but also ensures that we can meet the growing demand for affordable housing without compromising on quality or sustainability.

Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, we remain steadfast in our mission to deliver homes that are not only affordable but also exemplify the highest standards of design and environmental stewardship. Our vision is to create vibrant, inclusive communities where residents can thrive and we are committed to working collaboratively with all stakeholders to achieve this goal.

I extend my heartfelt thanks to the entire team for their dedication and hard work over the past year. Together, we will continue to build a brighter, more sustainable future for the Tewkesbury Garden Communities.

Richard StanleyLeader of Tewkesbury Borough Council

The UK is facing a housing crisis, with issues of both availability and affordability, and the Tewkesbury area is no exception. The Ashchurch location, both north and south of the current A46, presents an excellent opportunity for large-scale, integrated development. This area accepting the highway capacity issue, benefits from relatively few constraints, has the potential for excellent transport links due to its proximity to the M5 and the main Birmingham to Bristol rail line, and strong potential for developing sustainable and active travel options to local employment and major sites in and around Cheltenham and Gloucester.

Key benefits:

• Housing and infrastructure: Major housing delivery in this location is crucial for securing government support for necessary infrastructure improvements. The proposed ‘offline’ solution for the A46, including an additional motorway junction south of the existing junction 9, is essential to support the strategic east-west highway corridor and bringing forward housing and strategic employment land in this area could be the incentive needed for government investment.
• Economic growth: This location also offers the potential to develop a major new business campus for Gloucestershire, which could include a skills and innovation centre focused on the Advanced Engineering and Manufacturing sector. Whilst providing employment for a sustainable development, this would attract inward investment, address critical skills shortages, and provide the business support infrastructure needed for growth and innovation.
• Job Creation and GDP Growth: The proposed 100 hectares of employment land could create up to 14,000 jobs equivalent to over £600 million of GDP growth.
• Community and regeneration: This development can act as a catalyst for major investment and regeneration in Tewkesbury town itself, boosting the sporting, leisure and cultural infrastructure of the town and local area.

There are already a number of consented planning applications within the Garden Communities area, with some homes already occupied in the southern area referred to by the developer as Fiddington Fields.

Below is a summary of the major schemes either consented or currently in the planning system at various stages.

Fig. 1.a – North of A46

*The North Ashchurch Consortium masterplan for the whole northern area indicates c4350 in total. See fig 2. below. This application will also include a detailed application for the proposed new rail bridge.

Fig 1.b – South of A46

In addition there are a number of other major landowners currently expressing interest in bringing forward land for development in the southern area.

It is worth noting that currently the majority of the land in the Garden Communities designated area has no formal planning status, however as a consequence of a current undersupply of homes (relative to government-set targets) in the borough, significant ‘windfall’ development (i.e. planning consents which are not within a local plan) is an ongoing reality.

Fig 2. North Ashchurch Consortium concept masterplan

A major public (non-statutory) consultation exercise was held by Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) Highways from 7^th Oct 2024 to 3^rd Dec 2024 to introduce a number of proposed route options for an ‘offline’ A46 route and new motorway junction that would alleviate many of the current problems experienced on the A46 running through Ashchurch and connecting to the M5 motorway at junction 9. The A46 is part of the strategic road network connecting the South West to the North East of England and the East Coast ports.

An offline route would provide a number of benefits, including:-

• Ensure the Strategic Road Network meets likely future development needs in the Ashchurch area considering potential for long-term growth
• Improve local journey times and reliability during peak periods at M5 Junction 9 and on the existing A46 corridor between M5 Junction 9 and Teddington Hands roundabout
• Improve the overall performance of the A46 strategic corridor between the M5 to the south and the A46 to the north of Evesham, ensuring the route provides a reliable connection between the Midlands and South-West England
• Improve safety performance at M5 Junction 9 and the A46 between M5 Junction 9 and Aston Cross for all users
• Reduce severance and improve the experience for walking and cycling journeys at M5 Junction 9 and along/across the A438 and A46 between Tewkesbury School and Aston Cross

Fig 4. Route options for A46 offline

The scheme has completed the Strategic Outline Business Case stage and whilst further business case stages and related approvals are necessary, the schedule indicates construction in the early 2030’s.

If the scheme is approved to go forward to develop a full outline business case, GCC will lead on the development of the outline case through to submission.

Initial meetings have taken place with both Ashchurch Rural (11 Nov) and Northway (11 Dec)  parishes to introduce the concept of stewardship at scale for the TGC.

Stewardship in the context of Garden Communities primarily means the long term (notionally in perpetuity) management and care of community assets created through development. Typically this will include (non-adopted) green open spaces, sports and play facilities and community buildings.

It can also include elements of community building and placemaking where the established stewardship organisation is actively involved in community engagement and ‘animation’, organising events, provision of local services (e.g. on-demand local transport), delivering well-being programmes and can stretch as far as supplying utilities and data services and potentially running commercial activities within the community, e.g. cinemas, arts centres, cafes, pubs etc.

The team have been actively engaging with Homes England and external advisors on how to establish appropriate and sustainable stewardship arrangements over the long term. This included a visit to the Chichester Community Development Trust in November. This will be a significant workstream in 2025 and we have received some initial funding from Homes England to support the initial development of a stewardship strategy.

The key priorities for the Garden Communities programme for 2025 are as follows:-

• Host a major public engagement event early in 2025 to share progress on the garden communities development with the community.
• Secure additional funding to further develop plans for long term stewardship within the Garden Communities area and establish a local stewardship company
• Commission (jointly with Homes England) a sustainable movement strategy for the Garden Communities.
• Agree the full scope and commission (subject to funding) a Strategic Framework Masterplan for the southern area (i.e. south of the A46) of the garden communities development.
• Subject to government funding and full council approval, establish an ‘interim vehicle’ to lead on the development and infrastructure delivery.
• Secure funding and planning approval to build the new rail bridge and access road at Northway.

• Continue to promote the Garden Communities Charter and encourage developers to sign-up to it.

• Develop an Employment, Skills and Innovation delivery strategy for the Garden Communities area.
• Continue to support the County Council promoted M5 J9a/A46 offline solution.
• Continue to work with Homes England to secure strategic land acquisitions and ensure high quality placemaking is planned.
• Continue to work with all landowners and/or developers to bring forward their applications through the Local Planning Authority.

There are a number of significant government initiatives and activities that will also impact the garden communities programme in 2025, including:

• The New Towns Taskforce
• Revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
• The commitment to deliver 1.5million homes during this parliament.
• The English Devolution White Paper and the move to a unitary authority.

2025 promises to be a very significant year for the GC programme and we look forward to updating you on the progress made in 12 months time!

The Tewkesbury Garden Communities Programme Team

December, 2024