Overview
Transformation of the historic Rugby Radio Station site into a thriving, exemplar new community, now known as Houlton. Our work has been instrumental in steering the scheme to its current implementation stage, via early visioning, allocation, outline permission, and detailed consents.
Project Highlights
Clients
Urban&Civic
Date
2003 - Present
Scale
6,200 homes, 16 hectares of employment
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The judges felt that the planning strategy, the need to overcome significant programme issues around construction and the engagement with the LPA were done with great planning skill.
Judge's Comments, RTPI Planning Awards 2022
The Project
Houlton is an established, growing and highly successful new community on the edge of Rugby, having witnessed a major transformation since the site’s role as a radio station at the heart of transatlantic communication ended. Plans include delivery of up to 6,200 new homes, along with education facilities, community spaces, and up to 16 hectares of employment and retail floorspace, all integrated within a substantial network of green and blue infrastructure. The scheme is now well advanced, with over 1,000 homes built and occupied, and the first primary and secondary schools, as well as the local centre, now open. Houlton is a much visited, exemplar scheme which demonstrates the value of early delivery of infrastructure, particularly education and green spaces, in community building and placemaking.
The Process
We have been involved in the Houlton scheme since its inception back in 2003, when ideas for the redevelopment of the BT radio station site were first mooted. Since then, we have shaped and sold the vision for the urban extension, culminating in an allocation in the Rugby Core Strategy, followed by the submission and negotiation of an outline planning application based on our masterplan and parameter plans.
Our role continues through the implementation stage, securing the necessary detailed permissions for the new schools, wildlife corridors, open spaces, community buildings, local centre and the blue, green and grey infrastructure that connects the scheme together. Our longstanding knowledge of the scheme, combined with an understanding of the need for flexibility in bringing forward a scheme over 10-20 years, has been key to sustaining the delivery of the development. Our responsive approach to planning has allowed key elements of the scheme to be brought forward in advance of condition/S106 triggers, and in different configurations that suit evolving and current needs. This includes the multi award-winning Houlton School; which saw a highly successful conversion of the listed C Station building into a secondary school. The Design Codes for each Key Phase have also been instrumental in securing the level of design quality for which Houlton is well known.