Tewkesbury Borough Council has committed to ensuring that critical infrastructure is delivered ahead of, and as part of, housing growth within its Garden Communities programme.
Reflecting the necessity of a bridge to unlock access to the first phase of the Garden Communities, the borough council has entered into a conditional sale agreement to purchase land at Northway Court Farm, Tewkesbury, if planning permission is granted.
Importantly, unlike the previous bridge project – colloquially known as the ‘bridge to nowhere’ – on this occasion the Council is securing the ability to acquire the land needed to enable the bridge to come forward as part of planning applications that will deliver housing to meet the local need.
Having listened to concerns raised about the previous bridge project, the council will not be submitting a planning application to deliver a ‘standalone’ bridge. The responsibility of securing planning permission now lies with developers as part of their broader planning applications, and they will be required to demonstrate the validity of the overall scheme within the environmental, and other relevant, planning policies not addressed previously.
If planning permission is secured by the developers, the council will build the bridge and is in discussions with Homes England to secure the necessary grant funding for this, including the cost of an improved design.
Without this proactive approach, the cost of this essential infrastructure – including the bridge, road, and the works required to close the Grange Road level crossing, which could total up to £20 million—would negatively affect the viability of the project. The intention is therefore to ensure as much money as possible is available to deliver community infrastructure. This plays a particularly important role in making a Garden Community and reflects what the local community has asked for.
This move by the council aligns with the emerging masterplans that are coming forward for the Garden Communities, with recent illustrations by the North Ashchurch Consortium showcasing a local road that would connect new communities east of Aston Cross with Northway, linking with existing routes into Tewkesbury town centre and avoiding the congested A46 and Junction 9, along with significant community infrastructure including primary schools, local centres, health facilities and space for a secondary school and supermarket.
Tewkesbury Borough Council Chief Executive, Alistair Cunningham OBE, said: “We know from our previous work that a bridge is required to enable the Garden Communities development to proceed, and we have carefully considered the way forward, particularly after the judicial review in 2023.
“We are stepping in to ensure the bridge remains a viable option and to secure grant funding to deliver the scheme. In securing the land and funding for the bridge, we will, over time, be able to recover the costs from the developers and reinvest this additional funding into not only the Garden Communities initiative but also the town centre and Tewkesbury as a whole. This approach should ensure the developers can deliver more community infrastructure.
“It is important to be very clear that our involvement in this scheme in no way conflicts with the role of the local planning authority in assessing any applications that should be received. Development, particularly involving rail infrastructure, is extremely complex with long lead-in times, and the relationships developed by the council with Network Rail over the past few years means the council is in the best position to bring the bridge forward in a timely manner.”
Source https://tewkesbury.gov.uk/helping-to-optimise-infrastructure-delivery-within-garden-communities/