Phase Two Proposals
Phase Two will deliver up to 112 stunning new homes designed by award winning ADAM Architecture, a Country Park, land for the 1st Haslemere Scout Group’s new HQ and an outdoor classroom with facilities for Grayswood Nursery and Forest School.
Draft masterplan
Site Boundary
Proposed buildings [Indicative Roof layout]
Public green space / park
SuDS Features
Private garden
Pavement & Shared surface
Street
Cycle path
Car parking location
Existing trees and tree clusters
Proposed trees
Proposed Community Orchard
SANGs path
Diverted Public Footpath
Consented Permissive Footpath & Access
Play Area
Refer to PL02 Components Plan for Detailed / Outline application boundaries
Key benefits at a glance
New Country Park available for the whole community, created from land previously part of the privately owned Red Court Estate
A new headquarters and land for 1st Haslemere Scout Group
An outdoor educational facility and land for the Grayswood Nursery and Forest School
At least 20% Biodiversity Net Gain by creating new habitats and improving maintenance of existing ones
Up to 112 high quality design, PassivHaus standard energy efficient homes including a number of self-build plots
Over 80% of the dwellings will be one, two and three bedroom flats and houses
35% affordable housing in perpetuity, 5% of which will be offered to local people
Circa £4.5 Million of Community Infrastructure Levy to improve local infrastructure
New Community Facilities
Land and a new HQ for 1st Haslemere Scout Group
Around 5 acres of woodland and meadow, along with a new headquarters, will be gifted to the 1st Haslemere Scout Group. It is anticipated that other community groups will have use of the facilities during the day, for example a local nursery. The scouts have been looking to relocate for a number of years. The relocation from Weyhill will also enable the full regeneration of their existing site.
The Scout Group’s Mission Statement:
‘The proposed Scotland Park plans, which the Group has had input into, provide for a permanent Scout HQ, woodland and campsite. These modern facilities, easily accessible from Haslemere town centre, would allow 1st Haslemere Scout Group to continue to thrive and grow in the community, increase the activities that can be provided and help develop more young people with #SkillsForLife.’
Outdoor learning facility and land for Forest School
Grayswood Nursery and Forest School, will be gifted an area of land of approximately 4 acres, plus a cash lump sum to set up a centre at Scotland Park to be used as an educational resource, serving their own pupils as well as children from other local schools and groups.
Grayswood Nursery and Forest School’s Mission Statement:
‘The Scotland Park project has the potential to enable us to secure a permanent outdoor facility for as many children in the locality as would wish to engage with it, either during school time, at after-school clubs or holiday clubs, at family events at the weekend and during other social and family time.’
‘Building with Nature’
The development at Scotland Park will meet the ‘Building with Nature’ principles and standards that provide the know-how and good practice guidance to deliver high-quality, liveable, places where people can enjoy healthy, sustainable lifestyles. Wildlife habitats and connectivity through the new development will be maintained via the retention and enhancement of tree networks and hedgerows, wildlife corridors and “stepping stone” features.
Biodiversity will also be improved through new tree planting, new ponds and wetland conservation area, new public open spaces designed and managed as parkland, as well as further green space management such as children’s play area, and the community vegetable growing potagers and orchards.
Affordable Housing
In the interests of providing socially integrated communities, the design allows for affordable housing to be clustered in small groups interspersed with the private market housing. The affordable housing will be designed to the same exacting external specification and will be visually indistinguishable from the private market housing.
Due to the significant demand for affordable housing in Haslemere, we have taken the step to add another 5% to Waverley Borough Council’s statutory 30% provision. We envisage that these additional affordable homes will be structured as Discount Market Homes, for local families qualifying for a 20% discount.
These additional 5% of affordable homes will be allocated to local residents first and are guaranteed to be affordable in perpetuity, unlike many other affordable schemes. The affordable housing will give hard working people in modestly paid sectors such as the police, education and the NHS, the opportunity to remain living in the area.
Public Open Spaces
A series of attractive public squares and open spaces will be created on the site, including: a new Country Park with ponds, a new 2.3 km woodland walk, Wetland Nature Conservation with attenuation areas, a new children’s play area, to provide significant outdoor amenity for the local community.
Public rights of way
Phase Two will improve existing public rights of way and provide new pathways, offering pedestrian and cycling opportunities, directly linking the town with the countryside to the immediate south. Existing linkages are of poor quality or too remote for walkers from the town, and the existing main car park for Black Down off Tennyson’s Lane is often full. Scotland Park will become an accessible alternative base for outdoor recreational activity including dog walking within the town, relieving pressure from the local Recreation Ground and more ecologically sensitive areas, such as Hindhead Commons Special Protected Area.
Development blocks
Open space
Existing trees
Existing footpaths
New permissive right of way
Circular SANGs path
Design
To ensure Phase Two offers the exemplar architecture and design that Phase One provides, we have continued our relationship with ADAM Architecture, Winchester, the UK’s leading architectural practice specialising in classical and traditional architecture and contextual urban design. Working with our team of experts in Ecology and Sustainability, ADAM Architecture has adopted a landscape-led design approach, in other words one that uses the hedgerows, trees and lay of the land as the starting point from which the whole scheme is designed. This means a network of new streets, lanes, footpaths and cycleways, naturalised green spaces and green corridors linking to existing routes will ensure a safe, legible and easy to use layout for pedestrians and cyclists.
As with Phase One, we are designing a mix of dwelling types, sizes and tenures to suit local needs and deliver a balanced and mixed community. At the centre of the design is fostering well-being, learning and adventure in young people, increasing biodiversity to enhance natural wildlife habitats and provide new areas of public open space within walking distance of the town.
The Scotland Park development in Haslemere, offers a fantastic opportunity to create an attractive new neighbourhood community. The land here on the southern edge of Haslemere is well screened by existing mature woodland blocks and hedgerows, plus it is within walking distance of all local amenities. The housing is proposed on the least sensitive parts of the site, closer to the existing housing in the town.
The site is optimally located to serve as a ‘Gateway’ to Blackdown and the South Downs National Park (SDNP) and offers a small rural car park with cycle racks inside the Midhurst Road entrance.
Nature at its heart
The proposals will open up what previously was private family estate land, largely out of public view to create a new public country park. This includes new, accessible links to the Blackdown and the South Downs National Park (SDNP). The country park offers immediate access to beautiful, natural and established woodland within which to walk, run and play, linking directly with the wider countryside beyond. This, alongside other ecological and landscape measures, means the proposal will comply with a number of the Surrey Hills AONB Management Plan objectives. The site is therefore optimally located to serve as a ‘Gateway’ to Black Down and the SDNP. The existing and future residents plus visitors to the area will be able to share this lovely area for generations to come.
Where sustainable transport, walking and cycling is made easy
With England aiming for net zero carbon emissions by 2050, we want you to be able to live in a low carbon lifestyle every day far sooner. By having Haslemere’s facilities such as schools, shops and health facilities within a pleasurable walk or cycle ride and by providing access to fast and frequent public transport alongside ensuring good broadband, you’ll be able to leave your vehicle commuting days behind and embrace a more relaxed and sustainable lifestyle. Subject to the final legal detail, the transport proposals for the site have met with no objection from Surrey County Highways Authority.
A new way of working
In Scotland Park, several dwellings will be built with the space and technology to enable you to work from home if that’s what suits you. Home offices will be included where possible, not only to reduce reliance on private car travel, but also to encourage an active, thriving community in contrast to the standard dormitory estates so commonly built in the past.
Quality Homes
The acclaimed architectural practice, ADAM Architecture, has been commissioned to design Scotland Park and will ensure that the rich architectural heritage of Haslemere and the surrounding area is respected and reflected in our proposals. ADAM Architecture has gone to great lengths to research the local built character, architectural style, construction, detail and building materials. This research can be a source of inspiration and insight into what makes the area attractive and distinctive and will provide a framework to guide any future development. Proof of the quality of homes proposed is also demonstrated by the Phase One.
Wetland
The fields adjacent to Bell Vale Lane will be transformed into a beautiful, wild Nature Park. The existing grassland habitat will be managed for species diversity and a new wetland habitat will be created at the base of the slopes. The aim is to create a transition of habitat types from woodland edge, dry open meadow, wet meadow, marginal wetland and open water.
The wetland will be fed with water from the ditches which run alongside the paths within the woodland via a short underground pipe to create a naturalistic flush or spring in the top east corner of the field. The water will then flow down a series of stepped swales, with the amount of water within each section controlled by wooden boards. This will then feed into a series of ponds which will also step down gently with the slope at the base of the field, to outfall into the existing stream alongside the road. Water levels within the ponds will also be controlled by boards or simple sluices.
A meandering crushed gravel path will crisscross the ponds offering opportunities to engage with and appreciated the wetland. The Nature Park has been designed to be low key and naturalistic, with the minimal of structures needed for safe access and engagement. The aim is to enhance the existing character and features of the valley. Close mown grass paths will be the only access through the meadow areas.
