Resolution to Grant Bluehayes Community

With Cranbrook approaching the completion of its first permitted phase of; 3,500 new homes, a wide range of already delivered supporting infrastructure and a new town centre under construction, East Devon District Council resolved to grant permission for an expansion of the town in June 2023. The new Bluehayes community will consist of 870 additional homes and is a key part of the planned growth for the town which will take it to 8,000 new homes. Cranbrook already boasts a station, schools, community centre, local shops, sports pitches and a country park.  The additional proposals, by clients Taylor Wimpey Homes and Hallam Land, make provision for a new mixed-use area, 2 forms of entry primary school, active movement network and community open space.  Alongside these proposals for the western expansion of the town, consent was also resolved to be granted form some 18 hectares of Suitable or Alternative Natural Green (SANG) Land, including at Elbury Meadows adjacent to the Cranbrook Country Park. The applications were originally prepared and submitted, by David Lock Associates on behalf of our clients, to East Devon District Council in 2019 and evolved through the parallel process of engagement with the Cranbrook Development Plan Document, which was finally adopted in October 2022.  We have worked closely with the Council’s officers and other key stakeholders (including the County and Town Council and Natural England) over the last 3 years.  We look forward to continuing these relationships as the proposals are brought into fruition, following this major step in delivering the next phase of Cranbrook. Our next stages in moving the proposals towards implementation include the preparation on the design codes and the Landscape and Biodiversity strategy.