Local Plan Review 2026-2043 Issues and Options Consultation

Additional Supply in ‘Existing[27]’ Green Belt Locations

Arden Cross

95. Under the 2020 plan it was proposed (under policy UK1) to release 140ha of land from the Green Belt to accommodate the HS2 Interchange. However to remove the site from the Green Belt simply to accommodate the station and associated parking would have been a lost opportunity and therefore a fundamental component of the strategy for the area was to set out a framework for a mixed-use development across the site to produce a well-planned and vibrant new place.

96. The 2021 Masterplan for the site sets out a series of urban quarters through which the following key components will be delivered:

• Residential Community - The creation of a new residential community delivering up to 3,000 new homes incorporating a mix of tenure, type and density.
• Innovation district - incorporating research and development facilities and high value manufacturing as well as opportunities for a higher education campus.
• Transportation Hub Plaza – incorporating Station square access to the interchange station, leisure, retail and cultural at ground floor and commercial offices/hotels and residential above.
• Central Avenue – a thoroughfare to enable movement between the Interchange Station and the wider UK Central area which will feature a high-quality streetscape with retail and leisure frontages.
• Car free gateways and a Sustainable Transport Network.
• Parkland – network of interlinked landscaped areas with the 10ha Hollywell Brook nature corridor at the centre.

97. It was noted that development would take place over an extended time scale and delivery would be towards the end of, and beyond the plan period.
     
98. In terms of the residential component, the plan assumed 700 dwellings would be delivered by 2037. When the Council provided updated evidence to support extending the plan period, it used an assumption of 100 dwellings per annum as additional supply at Arden Cross.
     
99. If the same assumptions were carried forward into the new plan (which would have a plan end date of 2043 (i.e. 6 additional years of delivery compared to the 2020 plan) then this could yield an additional 600 dwellings being provided in the plan period (making a total of 1300 dwellings). These assumptions will be subject to further testing.
     
100. The HS2 reset process (which is currently taking place) is fundamental to understanding the timings for release of land at Arden Cross, and therefore dates for development delivery. The focus is on ensuring early land release and joint working to enable the earliest possible development around the interchange station.

Sites Allocated in the 2020 Plan

101. During the examination of the 2020 plan, the capacities from the allocated sites were adjusted to reflect latest evidence from emerging planning applications and densities were optimised where possible. Therefore, it is likely to be the case that little additional capacity for this source will be possible. Appendix A is a schedule of sites allocated in the 2020 plan.