Chesterton Farm, Cirencester
EDP were added to the Bathurst Development design team at the outset of the project. We provided all landscape, green infrastructure, ecology, arboriculture, heritage, agricultural land and landscape strategy services for this 2,350 unit scheme, helping to achieve ‘Candidate status’ against the new national green infrastructure benchmark, ‘Building with Nature’.
Our Challenge
The Chesterton site is located in Cirencester, an area synonymous with the Romans. So, the project involved a high level of environmental constraint from the outset – particularly relating to heritage assets and landscape – and addressing these matters turned out to be a fundamental part of the site’s success.
In addition, as a local company, we were particularly keen to help make a truly great place.
Our Solution
The Local Plan allocation, and subsequent successful Outline Planning Application for this site required a truly sustainable solution to provide much needed homes in the ‘Capital of the Cotswolds’.
Through extensive stakeholder and statutory consultation, EDP were able to address the site constraints and contribute to the masterplanning and design of the proposed development. This meant we were able to make the most of the natural capital and green infrastructure in our ‘home’ town.
Our Extraordinary
The Chesterton development has been recognised for its quality of green infrastructure, with the project achieving the Building with Nature candidate status (the UK's first green infrastructure certification scheme, launched in November 2017).
The achievement of this award was the icing on the cake for the local EDP Team, and while the scheme involved many gruelling hours of ecological survey and liaising with local people, the result is something we can all be proud of. And who knows, maybe some of the EDP Team will end up calling the development ‘home’ in years to come?
"I have been undertaking Biodiversity Net Gain calculations for Chesterton Farm over the past two years. As a large multi-phase project, it has been interesting to be involved in a complex and ever-developing set of calculations to ensure the development as a whole achieves the council’s target 10% net gain.
Day-to-day inputs include liaising with the project team to encourage the best outcomes for biodiversity, whilst still providing the often-conflicting, practical elements of drainage strategies, infrastructure, accessible public open spaces and appropriate management for a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
This project has helped my personal development by making me think out of the box, produce bespoke reporting to support our client and the council’s understanding of biodiversity net gain beyond a single number on the page.
Whilst Chesterton Farm was granted outline planning permission years before the concept of measurable net gain was widely used as a planning tool, it has been successfully retro-fitted to the scheme.
The skills I have gained with this project have been used on other multi-phase projects and have been applied not only to accompany planning applications but also as a predictor of Biodiversity Net Gain deliverability at the early design stages. I look forward to seeing the delivery of the Chesterton Farm project and the long-term biodiversity impacts our designs will have."
Day-to-day inputs include liaising with the project team to encourage the best outcomes for biodiversity, whilst still providing the often-conflicting, practical elements of drainage strategies, infrastructure, accessible public open spaces and appropriate management for a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
This project has helped my personal development by making me think out of the box, produce bespoke reporting to support our client and the council’s understanding of biodiversity net gain beyond a single number on the page.
Whilst Chesterton Farm was granted outline planning permission years before the concept of measurable net gain was widely used as a planning tool, it has been successfully retro-fitted to the scheme.
The skills I have gained with this project have been used on other multi-phase projects and have been applied not only to accompany planning applications but also as a predictor of Biodiversity Net Gain deliverability at the early design stages. I look forward to seeing the delivery of the Chesterton Farm project and the long-term biodiversity impacts our designs will have."
Our core project team
Director
Director
Associate
Associate
Director
Associate
Associate