PARCEL NO.14 DEVELOPMENT WORKS

What's happening?

With c.1,300 homes now occupied at Houlton and as per our Masterplan; we’re moving on with the next phases of development.

Over the course of the next few months, you’ll see work beginning on Parcel 14, the area highlighted on the map, as we prepare the land for development.

In accordance with our outline planning permission granted in 2014, this land will become home to new Houlton residents from late 2025/early 2026.

We don’t have a housebuilder in place for this area of Houlton yet, but with work beginning, and because we understand that the Orchard is a big part of our community here at Houlton, we wanted to take the opportunity to let you know about our plans and answer any questions that you may have.

When is it happening?

Some development work has already begun on Parcel No.14, but there is more to come:

August 2024

• Our professional consultants carried out several assessments, including a full review of the trees on-site by our internal and external ecology and arboriculture team.

September 2024

• The site will be secured with Heras fencing.
• Earthworks will begin with the relocation of the land stockpile to the area that will become the Phase 1 Houlton’s District Centre.

October 2024

• Following extensive assessment of the trees within Parcel No.14, and post nesting season, felling will begin.

November 2024

• Archaeological study will begin, in partnership with RPS Group.

December 2024

• Ongoing works to prepare the land for development will take place.
  

As work continues into the new year, we will continue to provide updates via this timeline.

Any questions?

Why are you using this land for development?

• Planning permission for Houlton was granted by Rugby Borough Council in 2014 and Parcel No.14 has always been a part of our Key Phase One development plans and has been shown on all publicly available masterplans.
• Land parcels for development at Houlton are carefully selected to ensure a steady flow of housing development and minimum disruption to residents and road users, hence us waiting until now to start work on Parcel No.14.

Was there a public consultation process before deciding to remove the orchard?

• Planning permission for Houlton was granted by Rugby Borough Council in 2014 following extensive public consultation, and Parcel No.14 has always been a part of our Key Phase One development plans.
• The development of this area has been shown on all publicly available masterplans for the development of Houlton, and information has been included within a significant number of communications in the lead up to development commencing.

Will there be any disruption to the roads leading into Houlton?

• No, we carefully select land for development to ensure a steady flow of housing and minimum disruption to residents and road users. During this initial phase of development, work will be contained within the development site.
• During September, you may see several lorries dispersing the materials from our stockpile to the area that will eventually become Houlton’s District Centre (close to Houlton School), but the impact of this work will be minimal and non-disruptive.

Are you able to save any of the original trees?

• Prior to any work starting on-site, the most recent professional assessment of the trees within Parcel No.14 was carried out in July 2024 by our partners at SEED Arboriculture Ltd who found that all existing trees were in various states of decline, meaning that the trees would not survive being moved.
• The assessment also confirmed that there are no tree protection orders in place.

Could some of the trees be relocated instead of being removed?

• Prior to any work starting on-site, a professional assessment of the trees within Parcel No.14 was carried out by our partners at SEED Arboriculture Ltd. who determined that all the trees within the Orchard had too much decay and insufficient live wood for the trees to be saved by relocation.

Who verifies the health of the trees before they are removed?

• Our partners at SEED Arboriculture Ltd. are professionals in this area, and hold the required qualifications, experience and insurance to carry out this work, with RQF Level 6 Arboriculture e.g. BSc or Professional Diploma and LANTRA Professional Tree Inspection certificates.

What about the animals living on Parcel No.14?

• Whenever we develop an area of Houlton, a full assessment of the land takes place by Natural England, specifically focussing on bats and badgers.
• During the assessment, the team found no evidence of bats utilising the site.
• Evidence was found of a badger sett being prepared for use and so we will be creating a new sett adjacent to the Houlton play park, for the badgers to move into. This is common practice, and we’ll ensure that there is a 20m exclusion zone around the sett to ensure the safety of the badgers and our residents.

Will any archaeology work be carried out?

• Yes, we’re working with our partners at RPS Group, experts in archaeology and heritage within the development process, to ensure that all outstanding fieldwork is complete within the Orchard prior to development.
• Based on previous finds in this area at Houlton, the team will be excavating three pre-determined reduced depth trenches to ascertain whether any Late Iron Age artifacts exist within the Parcel No.14.
• Any information uncovered during this stage can and will be shared with our community when possible.

Will access to the allotments and sports pitches be affected?

• No, access to the allotments and the sports pitches will continue as normal.
• There are no plans to limit access to these areas of Houlton and all allotment owners have been informed of the development that will take place on the land.

Notes

1. All the information provided on this page is accurate at the time of publication.
2. We will endeavour to keep this information as up to date as possible.
3. Should you have any questions that haven't been answered by this information page, please feel free to contact the Houlton Community Team:

houlton@urbanandcivic.com

+44 (0)1788 726 806