Landscaped-led, exemplar net zero carbon ready scheme: Meeting the needs of Chesterton
Our purpose is at the heart of everything we do and drives our desire to create high-quality, sustainable and inclusive places where people want to live. This scheme shows what an environmentally focused and contemporary approach to development looks like, in an area where housing is in critically short supply. ‘Land south of Green Lane’ will provide significant benefits to people and planet. Proposals for this scheme exceeded local planning policy requirements for sustainable new homes, biodiversity net gain (BNG) and open green space. The landscaped-led scheme includes extensive green corridors, woodland planting, wildflower areas, new habitats and swales, with new open green space exceeding policy requirements by more than 76%. Planning permission was secured via appeal here in 2024. Plans were shaped in line with Local Plan policy and through extensive local consultation, including with the Parish Council, Chesterton Football Club and others.
Benefits for people and planet:
- 17 acres of new open green space, incl. 8.9 acres for play, sports and leisure to enhance existing provision in the village.
- Overall BNG of approx. 20%, alongside a 50% net gain in hedgerows.
- Over £1.6m financial contributions for local schools, services and facilities:
- All new homes will be net zero carbon ready and include photovoltaic panels, air source heat pumps and EV charging points.
Planning History Brief Overview:
The Land south of Green Lane is largely free from physical constraints. It’s close to local community and recreational facilities as well as to Bicester Park and Ride, providing easy public transport access to Oxford and the wider area.
This was our seventh planning appeal win in-a-row, representing a consistently high performance that few in the land promotion sector can match. Our success comes from a focus on securing the best, most suitable sites, and having a high-quality team in place.
We acquired this site in 2017, and submitted our first planning application in January 2023, just before the site was recognised in CDC Emerging Local Plan as a sustainable location for residential development.
Despite the strong emphasis on sustainability and connectivity in our planning proposals, the scheme faced both council and local opposition and our application was rejected.
In October 2023 we assembled a strong appeal team and lodged an appeal against the refusal.
The appeal was approved in May 2024 and the site sold to Bellway Homes in March 2025.
The Land south of Green Lane offers a great opportunity to deliver sustainable homes in a sustainable location, signifi cantly contributing to the supply of vital new housing for people in Chesterton. Completing the site sale with Bellway is testimony to the expertise of our in-house land and planning teams – from the prime quality of land we secure through to achieving outline planning consent – alongside the strong relationships we have with landowners, our partners, and developers.”
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Nick Laugharne, Operations Director Land & Development, Wates Developments
Find out more about our track record of success.
Please contact us at: land@wates.co.uk
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