YOUR QUESTIONS

ANSWERED

By incorporating the following key measures:

• The wind turbine, solar panel array, and ground source heat pump infrastructure will produce 100% of the community’s energy needs with a huge amount of excess energy capable of powering homes and businesses in the surrounding community.

• The new houses will have a future-proofed, resilient design that delivers highly efficient and sustainable homes.  The development ensures energy-efficient homes with a much reduced carbon footprint, which will be sympathetically built to complement and protect Waddesdon’s unique heritage.

• The EV charging station will enable drivers using the A41 to charge their vehicles with green, renewable energy – both encouraging and supporting the move to green transport.

• The local, electric bus service will be available to both new and existing residents so they have easy ways of getting to local destinations using clean transport.

• The 19 hectares (47 acres) of carefully planted woodland will be set within 49 hectares (121 acres) of parkland and other green community spaces. This means that well over 54% of the scheme will be dedicated to significantly increasing biodiversity. This area, which is bigger than 75 football pitches, will contribute with its valuable, natural carbon capture in the drive to help tackle climate change.

The EV charging station will be located just off the A41, and is intended for electric cars, vans and buses to be charged by power coming directly from the scheme’s energy park. These electric charging facilities will provide fast, easy recharging for both local residents and passing drivers with green, locally produced renewable energy from the energy park. It will also charge the scheme’s new electric bus which will help deliver easy, green connections for both new and existing residents between Waddesdon, Westcott Venture Park, Aylesbury Vale Parkway railway station, and potentially Bicester and Aylesbury as well.

The Energy Park will comprise a solar array, wind turbine and EV charging station. It is anticipated that the wind turbine will be a Vensys VE155 with an installed capacity of 6.2MW; and that the solar array will be 11 hectares (27 acres) with an installed capacity of 10.0MW at a density of 900kW/ha. Instead of connecting to gas, the site will be fully electrified with a commitment to the installation of an ambient heat infrastructure network using borehole technology and ground source heat pumps to provide new homes with their hot water and heating requirements.

The annual production from the renewable capacity is estimated to be:

Wind turbine: 16.6 million kWh per annum

Solar array: 10.6 million kWh per annum

TOTAL GREEN RENEWABLE ENERGY: 27.2 million kWh per annum.

To put this into some form of context, if the average home in Buckinghamshire consumes 4587 kWh of electricity per annum (based on the BEIS, 2020 current average household electricity consumption figures for Buckinghamshire) then:

27.2 million kWh of energy generated

is equivalent to the annual energy consumption of

5,930 average Buckinghamshire households!

After all the energy needs of the new scheme are met (this includes 535 new homes with an EV charging point for each home, the EV charging station with 6 charge points, the hotel and all other buildings proposed on the scheme) there would be enough spare energy to supply 100% of the annual energy needs of:

4,279 average Buckinghamshire households.

To put this into some form of context, that’s enough spare energy to power the annual needs of all 850 (approx.) existing homes in Waddesdon and a further 3,429 existing homes in the surrounding area (or put another way, almost two-thirds of the 3,000 new homes at Berrryfields, west of Aylesbury!). Alternatively, it can also be supplied to Westcott Venture Park or other nearby businesses to use.

AWG are very much aware of the energy crisis and have been working with others to look at ways that on shore wind turbines can help reduce energy costs from locally produced energy to the consumer. With this in mind, AWG supports the changes proposed by the Local Electricity Act that is currently before Parliament.

There will be up to 535 houses, built in a carefully phased way so that the new community gradually establishes itself.

We would expect to deliver the 535 homes and energy park over a 5 year period following planning consent being granted.

Up to 535 new homes will eventually be created with a wide range for all needs including first-time buyers, couples, families on all incomes as well as those looking to downsize without leaving the area. Well designed and extremely energy-efficient, these high-quality new homes will be set within attractive, tree-lined streets and green corridors with wildlife friendly planting. They will be of exceptional design quality which may be rooted in the local traditional style but could be extended to a more contemporary style. A good mix of character, sizes, types and tenures including homes for private sale, affordable housing and intermediate housing such as shared ownership homes will be provided.

Buckinghamshire Council require that 30% of housing on developments is to be affordable. This includes affordable housing for people on lower incomes to rent as well as intermediate rent, discounted market housing, shared ownership or low-cost houses for sale.

Yes, a new care home is being planned with a ground-breaking new design based around a number of small “micro-communities” that share household living whilst still having their “front door” to their own private apartment off these shared living quarters. For more details please get in touch.

We are proposing an extensive amount of green open space for the whole community to enjoy with a large area of parkland and woodland to the north-west of the new homes that will significantly increase biodiversity. Totalling over 49 hectares (121 acres), the green open spaces comprise over 54% of the total scheme – that’s bigger than 75 football pitches! We will also provide a range of play spaces for children and young people of all ages, so a play strategy will be part of the planning application that sets out the amount, type and indicative location of these play spaces. An extensive range of play and sports facilities will be delivered alongside the new homes and we are committed to working closely with Buckinghamshire Council to determine the exact nature of these.

The new homes will be carefully placed within the landscape-led masterplan to ensure that both new and surrounding residents can easily access the extensive community green spaces for active and healthy lifestyles. This is a major opportunity to help support mental, emotional and physical wellbeing with areas of natural play, extensive woodland and meadowland walks, formal sport provision as well as walking and cycling along green corridors.

An assessment of the potential outputs of the scheme concludes that the new residents will spend up to £8.1 million each year in shops and on services, and that this increased expenditure will also help support up to 179 local jobs. Also, there will be financial and other contributions from the new scheme as part of any planning consent, which could include enhancements to Waddesdon village’s existing infrastructure and green spaces, amongst other things.

Waddesdon faces longstanding A41 highways issues with high and increasing levels of traffic on the A41 that divide the village and are a huge source of noise, vibration and air quality issues. As a bypass would be needed to help resolve these longstanding issues, the new scheme includes a new road which could form the first phase of a future bypass of the A41 that will run around the outskirts of the village to its north. This would be a major benefit to Waddesdon as it would help remove traffic from the village, whilst improving air quality and reducing noise pollution. Arnold White Group is fully committed to working with adjacent landowners and Buckinghamshire Council to deliver this future bypass for Waddesdon.

The site has been carefully designed to enhance the existing community of Waddesdon, and to provide a long-lasting legacy that will help protect it for generations to come. Also, the scheme proposes a new road that would form the first phase of a future A41 bypass, offering a unique opportunity to help tackle longstanding traffic issues in the local area. A noise and vibration assessment will be undertaken to identify any potential impact to local residents, which would be addressed at the detailed design stage. The planning application will be accompanied by a comprehensive Transport Assessment, which will consider the implications to local roads and help reduce any impact from the scheme as much as possible.

Any new housing development inevitably increases the number of people that use local services and community resources such as schools, GP surgeries and local roads. However, this scheme is designed to reduce the burden on local amenities, whilst at the same time helping local businesses see the benefit of an increased local customer base. Measures have been designed to assist in minimising traffic impact, by encouraging residents to use public transport or choose active travel, reducing reliance on their cars. The scheme will also provide a school, community buildings with a work hub and cafe, play areas and sports facilities as well as providing a hotel and care facilities for the ageing population.

Buckinghamshire Council will assess how the development affects local services and infrastructure, and we will work with them at every stage to ensure the necessary resources are provided. They will identify if any financial contributions are required to support local facilities - such as increased provision for local doctor’s surgeries - and make the final decision on where any funds are invested into local services.

We will provide land for a 2FE primary school at no cost to Buckinghamshire Council taxpayers and we are likely to make a financial contribution towards its building costs. Similarly, there may also be a contribution to improve local healthcare, whether this is either on or off-site. These will all be secured by a legal agreement as part of determining the planning application for Littleton Green which the wider community will be consulted upon.

The current parking requirements set by Buckinghamshire Council will be reviewed alongside local car ownership levels to estimate the anticipated parking demand for the proposed development and adequate parking provision will be made on site for the new residents. However, there will also be substantial sustainable travel measures aimed at helping people choose green, cleaner alternatives to the car such as walking, cycling and buses, and reduce traffic as much as possible. For example, a local e-bus coupled with walking and cycling connections to the village centre, the railway station, Westcott Enterprise Zone and Aylesbury will provide future residents with clean, reliable alternative transport. The scheme is also well located to the Waddesdon Greenway with its green walking and cycling link to Aylesbury Vale Parkway Station and routes further east of that. It also may be extended to the west as Buckinghamshire Council is also currently considering proposals to extend it westwards towards Westcott Venture Park.

A proportion of trips will be “captured” on site as they are easily reached by foot or cycle. However, inevitably there will be some trips made by car on the local road network. As part of the proposals, traffic management and traffic calming measures are being considered for Waddesdon which amongst other things, will help ensure that the new residents choose the A41 rather than any other village roads as their main route.

If Littleton Green is granted planning consent, Arnold White Group will deliver the energy park, EV charging station, roads, parkland, woodland and other infrastructure required for the successful delivery of the scheme. The housing, hotel and other buildings will then be delivered by reputable, high-quality housebuilders and commercial developers who will deliver all of these energy-efficient new homes and buildings in a timely manner.