Robert Adam’s practice ADAM Urbanism working with Barton Willmore, have revealed details of an ambitious project to build 5,750 new homes outside Dover
According to the project design team, the houses will be built in a ‘chain of six distinct neighbourhoods or villages’ around Whitfield.
The Whitfield Masterplan Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), which has now been approved by Dover District Council (DDC), also includes proposals for new shops, schools and community facilities.
Traditionalist Robert Adam of ADAM Urbanism said: ‘What took us through a complicated process that so often results in compromise, fudge and delay, was a clear shared vision.
‘This has been a model example of how inspired team working can deliver remarkable results. Great credit must be given to community representatives who turned the energy of their original opposition into a determination to achieve the best result for the village.’
The council’s Nick Kenton said:’The SPD represents a triumph for the balance between green space and built form that has not been seen in the district before and has produced a quality masterplan that will be vital for the prosperity of the district.’
The SPD is intended to form a ‘bridge’ between the strategic allocation of the site under the council’s key core strategy document and subsequent planning applications for development of the site.
The architect’s view
The plan followed the controversial allocation of housing around the small village of Whitfield separated by the A2 but on the northern edge of Dover. The allocation, originally opposed by local people, threatened to destroy the character of the village and swamp the existing community with higher density housing. The masterplanning team engaged closely with the residents in public meetings and detailed discussions to explore the best way to preserve the village character while providing the required development.
In a series of workshops, attended by the local authorities, village representatives and representatives of other landowners, a solution to the problem emerged. A chain of six distinct neighbourhoods or villages, separated by landscape, were clustered around the existing village.Guided by detailed landscape studies, the neighbourhoods or villages would each have their own identity and be developed one after another.
The low density village of Whitfield would retain its distinct character and boundaries but would benefit from the new infrastructure and facilities made possible by the numbers of new residents.
Architects Journal 13th April 2011 by Richard Waite
Well this is unfortunate.
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