Brownfield site: Hartland Park (Pyestock) near Fleet, Hart District, Hampshire
A new paper by young architecture graduate, Gareth Price shows that Hart District and Rushmoor Borough could build 49,000 homes on brownfield sites by shedding the old models of the past and adopting a more modern approach of building higher density developments in existing urban areas. This would avoid urban sprawl and protect our green fields to act as amenity space for the enjoyment of all.
Gareth’s document goes through many of the brownfield sites in both Hart and Rushmoor and applies modern techniques to demonstrate how more can be made of existing land to build more affordable homes on brownfield sites in urban areas to meet the needs of younger people who are struggling to get on the housing ladder and the elderly who will more, smaller more manageable homes closer existing amenities and infrastructure.
The paper illustrates also illustrates where these techniques have been applied in London and on the continent to create vibrant, cohesive communities.
This paper is exactly the sort of thing that We Heart Hart had in mind when we put forward our 5-point plan for improving Hart’s approach to the Local Plan where we called for a competition to be held amongst architects to illustrate the art of the possible on our brownfield sites and provide a vision to guide the regeneration of our urban town centres as an alternative to endless urban sprawl across our green fields.
No doubt there will be some who will disagree with the level of development intensity Gareth proposes for some areas in Hart, where he concludes we could build 25,000 homes on them. However, it is clear that the capacity of the brownfield sites he has studied is very much greater than the 700 dwellings Hart has said we could deliver over the period up to 2032. Indeed, according to our brownfield monitor the capacity is already up to 2,360 units in just 6 months. We must challenge Rushmoor to make more of their brownfield sites.
The paper can be downloaded below:
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