Vision

Design Objectives

Respecting and Building Community

Capturing the ‘value’ of community and bringing people together

The development will create new opportunities for both the existing and new communities. The new development will provide a balance of tenures and sizes to meet the identified housing requirement in the area, and new residents will help support the local economy of Backwell.

The informal pedestrian links back to public rights of way will help ensure a higher quality safer and more sustainable development. The landscaped ecological corridor around the perimeter of the development will also be a community asset with good levels of natural surveillance. This corridor will increase the distances between the proposals and the various trees growing in the neighbouring private rear gardens, allowing them to thrive.

New market and affordable homes that will provide a range of tenures and sizes to meet the area’s identified housing requirement. The scheme will provide 30% of the homes as affordable housing, as per North Somerset Council’s policy.

 Making Place

Creating a place with its own sense of place whilst responding to setting and built context.

The proposals will draw on the positive characteristics of Backwell and an appropriate vernacular, so the design is rooted in its context whilst responding to the needs of modern family housing. Materials and styles will be drawn from a consistent palette which reflects the area.

The development will front on to key public realm space providing a focal point for the new neighbourhood

New pedestrian connections link with the existing Public Rights of Way that surround the site and provide convenient access and safe active travel routes to nearby amenities and schools.

The development will be arranged to create legible fronts and backs and orientated to face onto public realm to provide an attractive outlook for new residential development

Connecting with Nature

Integrate new landscaping and Green Infrastructure with the site’s natural assets.

The placement of homes and spaces will be designed around the retention, enhancement and restoration of existing hedgerows and trees alongside new planting and public realm landscape features. The presence of the ecological corridors offset the built form sufficiently to create an extensive Green Infrastructure network increasing diversity opportunities.

Furthermore, the street-scene will be softened and enlivened as spaces to create a much more pedestrian friendly environment.

Retaining large areas of green space to the south for recreation, play and community orchards will engender a sense of ownership and pride.

An attenuation area will be created that will be managed sensitively for wildlife.

New hedgerow will be planted to buffer development from existing residences and to provide new habitat.

A landscape buffer will provide a soft development transition to the Local Green Space to the east and new native hedgerow and planting to reinforce habitats to the benefit of local wildlife.

Ecological/green infrastructure corridors around the site edges create a connected naturalistic open space network for wildlife habitat.