Buckinghamshire Advantage, the delivery arm of Buckinghamshire Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership (BTVLEP), is delighted with the outcome of today’s decision (26th October) by Aylesbury Vale District Council to give the green light to the outline planning application for the Aylesbury Woodlands development.
Aylesbury Woodlands, part of the Aylesbury Vale Enterprise Zone, is an extensive site to the east of Aylesbury, which will include commercial premises, road infrastructure, housing and leisure facilities.
The decision by Aylesbury Vale District Council follows an extensive programme of work, including community and stakeholder engagement in the evolution of this innovative mixed use proposal.
Richard Harrington, Managing Director of Buckinghamshire Advantage, said: “We are delighted with the outcome of our outline planning application for Aylesbury Woodlands, which now gives us the opportunity to progress with this important development to help plug gaps in infrastructure provision, to grow jobs, build a sustainable community and enhance access to open space and new community facilities. In this respect Aylesbury Woodlands is both highly complementary and distinct from previous Aylesbury major development areas and will support the wider growth of this recently designated Garden Town.”
Richard added: “In addition, the design and delivery of the Eastern Link Road (South) through the Woodlands scheme is a key element of the master plan. The road, together with the already programmed northern section of the Eastern Link Road will improve north-south connections by providing the missing link between the A41 and the A418. It will also provide part of a bigger orbital route to the east and south of Aylesbury, which meets with the local Councils’ strategic highway aspirations for the town’s transport infrastructure.”
Aylesbury Woodlands is intended to be a high quality sustainable scheme designed to deliver green infrastructure – with 50% of the site green and open. It will offer mixed land use with the provision of commercial premises to facilitate employment growth, leisure opportunities to promote health and well-being and housing, including ‘custom-build’ and affordable homes.
The Aylesbury Woodlands site is bounded to the south by the A41. To the north is the Grand Union Canal; to the east is the Arla dairy. To the west is the existing urban edge of Aylesbury, including the residential area of Broughton. The site covers an area of approximately 200 hectares (500 acres).
The proposed commercial area – on the eastern part of the Aylesbury Woodlands site – was granted Enterprise Zone status in November 2015. The ‘Aylesbury Vale Enterprise Zone’ will help unlock significant private and national investment – for further details please refer to the Aylesbury Vale Enterprise Zone website at: www.bucksez.co.uk. In addition, Aylesbury Woodlands will work in harmony with the ambitions of Aylesbury Garden Town, following the granting of this status earlier in the year.
In order to ensure the least amount of disruption and the smooth delivery of Aylesbury Woodlands, BTVLEP have been working closely with partner organisations, including local developers for sites such as Kingsbrook and Hampden Fields, to ensure a coordinated approach to mitigating the cumulative impact these developments will have on the local area.
Masterplanners, ecology, landscape, heritage, drainage, transport, air quality and noise specialists have all contributed to the Aylesbury Woodlands scheme. For further details and latest updates please refer to the Aylesbury Woodlands website at: www.aylesburywoodlands.co.uk
The next major stage for the project will be to prepare and submit details of the first phase for Council approval as ‘reserved matters’ – this will include the Eastern Link Road (South) and a large part of the Enterprise Zone. This will be in accordance with the yet to be issued conditions and legal agreements on the outline permission.
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