Development site North Essex

Mixed use Development

Opportunity of up to 11 acres

North Essex

A fuller range of shops, banks, cafes, hotels and services are available in the High Street of Dovercourt approximately a mile from the site as is Dovercourt Bay sea front with its Blue Flag award winning beach. Two miles from the site lies the centre of Historic Harwich.

Development in Tendring

The overarching vision and strategy for Tendring, is to create 12,000 new homes and 5,000 new jobs needed between now and 2031.

The Core Strategy and Local Plan is in its final stages of consultation and is expected go through the Planning Inspectorate for adoption at the end of this year.

This former smallholding situated on a total plot measuring 11 acres has recently been

included in Tendring District Council’s amended draft development plan to be submitted to the

inspectorate later this year with mixed use class and emphasis on residential development.

Situation

Twenty miles to the East of Colchester, Harwich (incorporating Dovercourt) is the northernmost coastal town within Essex lying at the meeting of both the Stour and Orwell river estuaries. The site is just over a mile from Harwich International Port the UK’s third largest cruise port, serving 126,000 cruise passengers and 1 million ferry passengers each year (source Investessex.co.uk). The town resides within the Tendring District with Tendring District council focussed on creating 12,000 new homes and 5,000 new jobs in the region between now and 2031 (source Tendring District Council Local Plan Newsletter 2 dated July 2014).

Dovercourt and Harwich have a current combined population of over 20,000 residents and the outlying villages accounting for a further 6,000 residents who gravitate to the town for it’s developed amenities.

Transport Infrastructure

The town is connected to the A12 by the A120 with three railway stations providing a good service to London Liverpool St (1hr 20mins).

The site itself has a bus stop just 30m from the main entrance with buses serving all parts of the town and larger nearby towns such as Clacton-on-Sea and Colchester.

Local area

The site is less than 0.5mile from a newly built District Hospital with state of the art GP surgery. There is a small local shopping area just 0.3 mile away over flat terrain anchored by a Co-operative store and sub Post Office supported by a variety of shops, services and takeaway restaurants.

Harwich Valley

Harwich Valley lies immediately to the West of the site which is a proposed mixed use development comprising 8 hectares of residential, 7 hectares of commercial and 9 hectares of retail land. The scheme represents a £44m investment into Harwich and will bring approximately 1,000 jobs for local people as well as creating new leisure facilities to attract visitors to the area. According to HarwichValley.co.uk the project will include a six-pump petrol filling station, a parade of five non-food retail and five restaurant/café units, a multi-screen cinema, car park with 560 parking spaces, public house, hotel, drive-through restaurants, warehouses, business park and residential development of 297 houses.

Figure 2 shows the red line boundary of the proposed Harwich Valley development from which you will see there is an intention to link with the “bottom field” of Greenfields site adjacent to and south of the A120.

More than 1,000 new homes are projected to be needed to be built in Harwich, mostly on small brownfield sites and medium sized greenfield sites around Dovercourt and neighbouring Ramsey Village. This focus for development will be employment-led with continued support for port-related development at Bathside Bay and mixed-use development at the ‘Harwich Valley’ site off the A120.

The site at Greenfields Farm has been included in the new settlement boundary for the first time and has been promoted for mixed residential use through the Site Allocations DPD process.

Informal discussions with TDC Policy Planners have been positive as the site is regarded as a well connected, sustainable, and deliverable.

Fig 1 - Extracted from TDC’s amended local development plan due for acceptance by the inspectorate

Fig 2 - The proposed boundary for the Harwich Valley development

Proposed link

Site

Site location

Location and Access

This is a well connected and sustainable site being close to amenities and local services. There is a good existing highway

and access splay facilitating development on the “upper field”. The old farm shop at Greenfields Farm (we understand that a

retail Planning Use still exists) had in excess of 100 vehicle movements a day and the turning bay across from the main farm

gate was installed many years ago to allow articulated Lorries and farm machinery to enter the site.

The larger parcel of land south of the A120 is provisionally designated in the new Local Plan for mixed use but with an emphasis on residential development and incorporates both the ‘upper’ and the ‘lower’ field. The area of land to the North of the A120 is included in the sites title.

To the South of the entrance way is an area of green public open space on a straight section of road. The Southern boundary has established semi-detached housing running along its length; with long rear gardens. To the East is a well screened cemetery. To the West, amenity land and Farm buildings/Light industrial units adjoin this parcel of land and to the North, agricultural land is found.

Lower field

Upper field

Land North of A120

Upper Field

The upper field spans an area of approximately 4.5 acres (1.8 hectares) and would accommodate between 45-60 properties subject to planning permission. The level land benefits from an elevated position and stunning views across the Stour River valley into Suffolk. The land adjacent to the north-westerly boundary would be the prime building zone for the development considering the outlook.

The upper field and farmhouse of Greenfields front onto the Green and Main Road being the primary thoroughfare through the town. There are various redundant old farm buildings of semi-permanent construction.

Lower field

The lower field of approx. 4.2 acres (1.7 hectares) slopes down from the level upper field and features an established lake. This two acre brown site could accommodate another 30-45 properties but there is a preference to retain the lower field which would include a condition in the contract of sale of the upper field that a serviceable access is provided. However, should a suitable prospective buyer wish to negotiate on the whole site then all proposals would be heard and considered.

Land North of A120

The land to the north of the A120 is included in

the current title and it has long been an

ambition of TDC to create a “Linear Country Park”

alongside the river Stour and this part of the A120

corridor. There is an opportunity to consider

exploring the feasibility of offsetting s106

agreements and CIL contributions with the

donation of this land to the Country Park.

Enquire to Darryl Stanley

Essex and Suffolk Office 2 The Lane, Manningtree,

Essex, CO11 1AW

T: 01206 589109 E: [email protected]

Summary

This well connected and sustainable site offers a unique development opportunity

Upper field - Potential for 45 - 60 homes. 4.5 acres of flat terrain. Access from main Road.

Lower field - Potential for 30 - 45 homes. Approximately 4.2 acres. Feature lake, sloping terrain.

Land North of A120 considered for donation to offset CIL and s106 contributions.

Elevated Stour Estuary views.

Significant local infrastructure and housing development required by 2032.

Incorporated as mixed use with an emphasis on residential development to Tendring

District Council’s amended local development plan due before the inspectorate by the end

of the year.

Acquisition

Essex Country & Village Homes welcome all enquiries and will seek expressions of interest. The

Sellers are open to unconditional sale, conditional sale, option agreement, or joint venture

agreement.

Price on Application.

Greenfields Farm

664 Main Road, Dovercourt, Colchester, Essex, CO12 4LT