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Milton Road
Impington Consultation
About the project
Flagship Homes is a housing association who provide homes for sale and private rent to suit every need and meet the rising need for homes across the South East.
Flagship is pleased to present proposals for an attractive Community Park for new and
existing residents, plus up to 50 new homes, half of which will be affordable.
Thank you to all those who have left feedback. The survey has now closed; we will update those who have left their contact details when we come to submit a planning application to South Cambridgeshire District Council.
We hosted a public exhibition on Tuesday 9 November at the Histon and Impington Recreation Centre. We also hosted a webinar on Monday 8 November. A recording is available to view below:
Flagship
Flagship provide homes for affordable and market rent and for sale across the east of England. They maintain their own housing stock and support the communities of which they are part. Profits are reinvested towards the delivery of more affordable housing. Flagship have approximately 28,000 homes, 335 of which are within South Cambridgeshire with more currently being built in Papworth and Cambourne.
Our Vision
A 4.8ha Community Park (69% of the site)
which seeks to address the significant underprovision of recreational and leisure facilities in Histon and
Impington identified by the Council. The Park has been designed to ensure it is available to all ages and
abilities, and will be provided at nil capital cost to the Council
Up to 50 new homes, ranging from 1-bed flats to 5-bed houses, so that Impington continues to be an inclusive place to live where everyone can enjoy a home appropriate to their situation
25 affordable homes (50%) to help meet the housing need of the local area
A revised application which respects and enhances the countryside setting and provides suitable mitigation in all technical aspects of the development
Ecological enhancements with a significant uplift in biodiversity across the site
Enhanced cycle and pedestrian routes including a widened and improved footpath along
part of Milton Road and ensuring road safety along Milton Road into the village
The Site
The site lies to the east of the main hub of Impington, just to the south of Milton Road. The site is 7.8ha and currently comprises an agricultural field. The villages of Histon and Impington extend to the south west of the site. The villages have a number of facilities and services including schools, doctor’s surgeries, sports centre, shops, pubs, restaurants and a post office.
The site is situated adjacent to the residential properties that front onto St Andrews Way
that are located to the south-west of the site. The remaining parts of the site are generally surrounded by
agricultural fields with some pockets of development nearby including Manor Farm to the north-west, Pumpkin
Farm and Evolution Business Park to the south-east, and ‘Origin8’ to the north.
Previous application
A previous outline planning application for up to 50 homes and a Community Park was
submitted in April 2019 by Flagship. However, the application was withdrawn in August 2019 due to some
technical questions that were raised on flooding and drainage, highways, and landscape.
Since then, the Applicant has worked with Histon and Impington Parish Council, County
Highways, and the Lead Local Flood Authority, and has held a pre-application meeting with planning officers to
prepare a scheme which seeks to overcome the previous comments that were raised and ensure that a suite of
public benefits can be delivered.
Constraints and opportunities
Community Park
There is a significant underprovision of recreational and leisure facilities in Histon and
Impington. A 13.89ha deficit of the main categories of open space – specifically formal open space and formal
and informal play areas – was identified by the Parish Council in 2018. The Community Park seeks to address
this underprovision and has been designed to ensure it is available to all ages and abilities and provides a
range of facilities that encourage healthy lifestyles.
These include a BMX/pump track, outdoor table tennis, informal play, a
Local Equipped Area for Play (LEAP), outdoor gym/trim trail features,
meandering routes for walking and cycling, an orchard, open grassy
spaces for community events and recreation, a wildlife pond with
dipping platforms, wildflower meadows with cut grass paths, together
with informal woodland parking area and toilet facilities.
The Parish Council’s Neighbourhood Plan seeks to provide a series of connected cycle and walking routes
around the village; the proposed scheme works perfectly with these aims. The Park will help integrate these
features into the Green Belt, along with new planting in the form of native trees, hedges, and planting to achieve
green infrastructure and biodiversity objectives, whilst at the same time creating an attractive, informal
destination at the edge of the village.
Finally, the Park has been designed in such a way that there will be
very modest operational and management costs for the Parish once
handover is complete.
Landscaping
The landscaping strategy will mitigate any negative impact of the development on the
Green Belt in its countryside setting. As well as the benefits that will come with the 4.8ha Community Park, this
will be achieved by:
Reintroduction of previously lost hedgerows to reintroduce the historic pattern of the
landscape
Retention of existing trees and most hedgerows along the boundaries of the
development
Creation of a native species woodland belt, as well as multiple small copses throughout the site and orchard planting in an informal meadow to soften the impact of the development and preserve the character of the area
Provision of nature areas, resulting in substantial biodiversity net-gain when compared to that of the existing site
A wide range of wetland features created by water management and Sustainable Urban Drainage (SUDS) infrastructure
Strong and well-vegetated street frontage with buildings set back from the road
Use of appropriate and carefully-selected materials for elevations, boundary treatments, and surfaces
Enhancement of the approach road to the existing village of Impington with biodiverse hedges, trees, and verges with a ditch feature
Orchard planting in an informal meadow provided as a local resource, which will reintroduce a former feature of Impington as shown on historical maps
Sustainability
The homes proposed for this site are those from our newly designed
modern method of construction (MMC) house type suite.
Flagship have worked hard to offer our occupants with well designed,
beautiful homes inside and out, for modern living needs and
requirements. Also at the top of our agenda is sustainability: we aim
all our new build homes to achieve an ‘A’ EPC rating which will result
in our affordable homes having less of an impact on the environment
and being more affordable to run. All proposed dwellings will be
heated with air source heat pump (ASHP) which is a renewable
alternative from fossil fuels.
It is important for the entire site, as well as the individual homes, to be
sustainable. That’s why we’ve designed a layout that includes green
open spaces for our occupants to enjoy and to promote biodiversity
within the development. We are also ensuring the availability of
electric car charging points to futureproof the development and cycle
storage to promote sustainable living.
Connectivity
A package of highway improvements has been discussed with the Parish
Council with the objective of providing safe and convenient access to the
proposed development, including the Community Park.
Vehicle access
Two t-junctions will provide access to the residential development and
Community Park. The 30mph speed limit zone will be relocated to the
northern-most corner of the residential development.
Pedestrian and cycle improvements
Around the boundary of the development, the shared-use footway/cycle track will be
widened to three metres and connect to the existing footway at the junction with St Andrews Way. This will help
to provide safe pedestrian and cycle access to the site.
From the Milton Road/St Andrews Way junction, the existing footway will
remain solely for the formal use of pedestrians. At the junction between
Milton Road/Clay Close Lane/Burgoynes Road a new 'raised-table' will
be constructed to calm traffic and allow for pedestrian crossing. A new
section of footway will be constructed on the northern side of Milton Road
allowing for on-ward movements into Clay Close Lane, and towards
Impington’s amenities.
To supplement the existing traffic calming, additional speed-cushion
traffic calming features will be implemented to create an extended low speed environment suitable for cycling along Milton Road towards the
proposed development. Existing road markings will be repainted.
Drainage
The site is within Flood Zone 1 and at low risk of flooding. Following the withdrawal of the previous application, the flood mitigation and drainage strategy has been revised and is shown on the drawing below. A foul and surface water pumping station is included and a large Sustainable Urban Drainage (SUDs) basin has been incorporated into the proposals.
Key Benefits
Up to 50 new homes for Impington
50% affordable housing to help meet Histon and Impington’s deficit of affordable homes
4.8ha Community Park to contribute towards meeting the underprovision of open space within Histon and Impington
Up to 50 new homes for Impington
50% affordable housing to help meet Histon and Impington’s deficit of affordable homes
4.8ha Community Park to contribute towards meeting the underprovision of open space within Histon and Impington
Enhancing the local countryside and delivering biodiversity net gain
Enhanced cycle and pedestrian routes and highway safety improvements
Maintaining Impington’s rural character
Enhancing the local countryside and delivering biodiversity net gain
Enhanced cycle and pedestrian routes and highway safety improvements
Maintaining Impington’s rural character
Timeline
November 2021
January 2022
June/July 2022
May 2023
May 2025
Meet the team
Flagship Homes
Carter Jonas (Planning and Masterplanning)
Liz Lake (Landscape & LVIA)
TPA (Transport)
Peter Dann (Flood Risk, Drainage, and Civil Engineering)
Concilio (Community Engagement)
Engaging with you
We are keen to gather feedback from the local community about our
proposals for Milton Road, Impington. We therefore held an in-person event to showcase the
scheme, which gave attendees the opportunity to meet the project team, view the proposals,
and ask them questions about the scheme. The event was held on Tuesday 9 November at
the Histon and Impington Recreation Centre.
We also hosted a webinar on Monday 8 November, which featured a presentation from the
project team followed by a Q&A session. A recording is available below:
FAQs
A raised table at the junction of Burgoynes Road and Clay Close Lane is proposed to slow all traffic approaching this junction.
Highway improvements works that are considered appropriate to the scale of development
are proposed. It is considered unreasonable that this development should seek to resolve
all existing highway issues within the vicinity of the site, some of which is likely to require
3rd party land, that is not within control of the County Council and is not deliverable.
Once submitted the application will be assessed by Cambridgeshire County Council’s
Highway Team to consider the highway matters associated with the development.
A Flood Risk Assessment and a drainage strategy have been prepared to support the
Outline Planning application. These demonstrate that residential development can be
delivered on the site and strategies can be implemented to facilitate this.
The illustrative masterplan shows a large attenuation basin that will collect the water, this
will then be discharged into the existing drainage network at greenfield run off rates.
Once submitted the application will be assessed by the Council’s Flood Risk and Drainage
officers to ensure that a robust drainage strategy can be implemented on the site.
The community park will be delivered in its entirety by Flagship as part of the scheme. The
community park will then be gifted to the Parish Council to manage.
Flagship is a social housing provider that does not specialise in the delivery of commercial
premises. No local shops are proposed as part of this development.
Some highway improvements to the Milton Road are proposed which relate to the
proposed development. It is not within the gift of this development to deliver extensive road
widening or upgrade works.
Flagship will be delivering the community park in its entirety. The provision of new homes
will help enable the delivery of the community park.
The Community Park is proposed for the existing residents of Histon and Impington. The
design and size of the community park, ensures that it will not become a destination for
residents living in neighbouring villages or Cambridge.
The 2018 proposal included a number of facilities that could not be funded by the proposed
development such as a community building and 3G football pitch with flood lighting. The
proposed Community Park will be much more naturalistic. The community park will be
designed with the Parish Council to ensure that any maintenance responsibilities are keep
to a minimum to ensure the operational costs are kept as low as possible.
The current drainage strategy seeks to discharge excess water into the ditch that runs
adjacent to the northern side of Milton Road. A financial contribution would be secured by
the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) to undertake any maintenance costs.
The scheme seeks to deliver 50% of all the homes on the site as affordable, both
affordable rent and intermediate (shared ownership) products.
Any future scheme will seek to secure a secure by design accreditation which seeks to
design developments in a way, so they are less susceptible to crime.
The water supplies to the new home will be provided by Cambridge Water, they are
responsible for the water infrastructure within and around the site and they will need to
ensure they maintain a suitable water pressure for existing and future residents.
The current drainage strategy seeks to discharge to the ditch to the northern side of Milton
Road.
The drainage strategy and Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) demonstrate that the
development can be delivered with the risk of flooding adequately mitigated. This will be
achieved through the incorporation of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), which will
ensure that surface water discharges from the site at greenfield run-off rates, taking
account of 1 in 100 year storm events and climate change allowance. The Flood Risk
Assessment (FRA) and drainage strategy will accompany the planning application.
Sufficient car parking provision will be provided within any future reserved matters planning
application in accordance with South Cambridgeshire District Council’s adopted parking
standards.
Histon and Impington have a significant deficit of affordable housing. 50% of the homes in
this scheme will be affordable which seeks to help meet this demand.