Information about the proposed development
The Council is planning to build over 300 new council homes over the next seven years as part of its Housing Delivery Plan. The first 62 of these homes will be built as part of a proposal to redevelop empty and derelict homes, council owned garages and some older homes currently occupied at Brookfield Close, Hutton.
The benefits that the proposed re-development will bring are:
- 62 new 1,2,3 and 4 bed homes
- 43 much needed affordable homes for local people – helping to reduce the number of families on the housing waiting list and in temporary accommodation
- 3 of the affordable homes will be built to wheelchair user homes standards
- 12 of the proposed 1-bedroom flats will be targeted at existing older residents on the site
- Net zero carbon ‘in-use’ homes
- New play area with outdoor gym and rest area
- Enhancement of the area and public realm
- Improved access connecting Hanging Hill Lane with Rosen Crescent and Willowbrook Primary school
- Electrical charging points for cars
- Promotes pedestrian movement over that of cars by introducing a home zone into the heart of the scheme to slow the speed of movement and provide a safer route to and from Willowbrook Primary School.
- Layout optimised to maximise passive solar gain in winter and minimise overheating in the summer
- All homes will have access to private external spaces – either rear gardens, communal gardens or balconies
- Approx. 80 formal parking spaces, which provides a gain of 24 against the existing 56 spaces
- Private, covered & secured cycle storage for all residents
- Efficient use of a brownfield site relieving pressure on the Green Belt
- Communal gardens likely to include allotments
- Retention and renovation of Courage Court
Details of the proposal are provided below and further information, including illustrations of the proposal can be found on the dedicated website brookfieldclosehutton.co.uk.
Latest Update
Our planning application for the redevelopment of Brookfield Close and Courage Court was approved by the Planning Committee on Tuesday, 29 June.
If you would like to listen to the meeting, please use the link below which will take you directly to the agenda page and you will see the live broadcast button:
Read the report which accompanies the application: Brookfield Close planning application report pdf
Updates
Enabling works are commencing on the 2nd January which are anticipated to be completed by the 26th January 2023. These works essentially consists of hoarding being erected in secured parcels across the entire site in preparation for full demolition.
We have worked closely with local schools who have provided artwork to be displayed on the hoardings, this will hopefully make then more pleasing to the eye and involve the local community.
Should you have any queries in relation to the redevelopment of this site, please email newcouncilhomes@brentwood.gov.uk
Background
The site is located off Brookfield Close and is bounded by Hanging Hill Lane and Hutton Drive. Shenfield train station is only a mile away (approximately a 20-minute walk), which sits on the London Liverpool Street to Norwich mainline and provides easy and fast commuting opportunities to the City of London and north into Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk.
The nearest bus stop operates on route 81, providing direct access to the key retail and employment centres.
The nearest GP is (Mount Avenue) which is approximately a 20-minute walk, with Willowbrook Primary school sitting to the north east of the site, on Rosen Crescent, which is accessed off Brookfield Close.
The site (highlighted in the red shaded area) under consideration for improvement and regeneration, incorporates 47 existing homes (tenanted and privately owned) of which 13 sheltered bedsits are derelict and boarded, 44 garages of varying usage, and a community office which is also boarded and out of use.
The proposed masterplan consists of a total of 62 new net carbon zero ‘in use’ homes comprising of 28 houses [2, 3 and 4 Bed], including detached, semi-detached, terraces and 33 apartments [1 & 2 Bed]. All homes will have their own private external spaces either in the form of rear gardens, communal gardens or balconies.
The site layout has been optimised to maximise passive solar gain in winter and minimise overheating in the summer, resulting in the majority of homes benefitting from a south facing elevation, which in turn creates a light, sun filled, comfortable and healthy environment.
Each home will be developed so that the layout has a wider footprint (rather than a deeper one), this is to maximise natural daylight and reinforces the south facing orientation. Where possible the living spaces are duel aspect to further enhance natural daylight levels. It is proposed to provide a green pedestrian route though the site linking Brookfield Close to Hanging Hill Lane. The existing trees within the site will be retained where possible and an arboricultural implications assessment will be undertaken to inform the design and layout.
Access
It is intended that the existing accesses to the site will be used to serve the residential properties and parking areas. An access from Hutton Drive will serve the car park for the proposed block of flats on the corner of Hutton Drive and Hanging Hill Lane.
The existing access from Brookfield Close to the garage block will be utilised for new housing in the centre of the development and the proposed housing to the north will be served of the existing access road off Brookfield Close leading to Hanging Hill Lane.
It is not considered that the proposed development will significantly increase traffic movements to the area given its previous residential use and any additional traffic movements could be accommodated within the local highway network. To support the application a Transport Assessment will be prepared.
Parking and cycle provision
Brookfield Close currently only has four formal on street disabled parking spaces. However it is recognised that there are additional informal spaces on the estate e.g. on driveways and the kerbs.
The redevelopment of Brookfield Close could provide approximately 80 parking spaces incorporating about:
- 62 private parking spaces
- 9 visitor spaces
- At least 4 disabled spaces
Some of these spaces will have access to a car charging station.
Cycle provision
Cycle storage will be provided for 69 bikes across the proposed site, be it via a combination of communal or private storage.
Flood risk
With regard to flood risk, the site is not located in a high risk flood zone, However, there appears to be a surface water flow path in the north west corner of site. Therefore, a Flood Risk Assessment will be prepared to support the planning application.
Any flood risk to the development will be mitigated by measures including locating homes outside of areas at risk of flooding and raise floors above modelled levels. In order to mitigate flood risk from the development, a Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) will be implemented at the site. SuDS mimic natural processes to ensure that surface water from impermeable areas is managed to replicate the pre-development situation.
Storage, waste, servicing and utilities
Each dwelling will be provided with dedicated storage space for waste and recycling. 2, 3 and 4 bedroom houses will have storage for residual, recycling and garden waste in their rear gardens. Whilst dedicated areas will be provided on the street frontage for residents to present their bins on the morning of collection.
Each dwelling is provided with a recessed cupboard on the front elevation which will act as a utility cupboard enclosing all service entry points (meter boxes, utility boxes) to ensure the street scene is uncluttered.
Zero carbon
Our key strategy on this project is to reduce operational energy demand to as low a level as possible, through adopting a fabric first approach, akin to that of Passivhaus*.
Having a building with a low energy demand means that we can much more easily generate the same level of energy pro provide heat as required.
Zero Carbon (in use) refers to operational carbon; this is the carbon emissions generated during the building’s lifetime relating to its use and principally arising from the building’s energy demand. To achieve zero net emissions, we therefore need to be able to offset our actual energy use with energy derived from renewable energy sources.
The homes will become so well performing that the energy required to heat, and maintain the heat, is expected to considerably reduce. On similar projects annual heating bills have reduced to roughly £40 per annum.
Other benefits of a fabric first and Zero Carbon approach include:
- A home that is free from draughts and cold spots
- Air that is fresh, clean and filtered
- A home that will have a maintained and controlled environment
- A home that demands such a small energy demand, that the same level of energy will be generated by onsite renewables, such as Photo Voltaic Panels
- A home that strongly responds to the climate emergency by providing conscientious living in a sustainable way
*Passive House (Passivhaus (German) is a voluntary standard for energy efficiency in a building, which reduces the building’s ecological footprint. It results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or cooling.
Landscape and public spaces
The whole of the development site prioritizes the movement of pedestrians and we intend for the speed of movement to be set by the pedestrian. Alongside this, house frontages have been carefully designed with generous windows from habitable rooms to provide a key connection between the home and the street scene.
The green spaces dotted throughout the site integrate the new development back into the existing community, providing east/west connectivity through the site and spaces for residents to congregate. The mature trees which run through the heart of the site will be retained and used to form the focal point of a community garden, which encourages a sense of community spirit where the back gardens open out onto a shared secure play area for children and a landscaped walkway for communal gatherings. Spaces will also be provided to residents for use as an allotment.
Brookfield Close is proposed to include attractive external areas, which by their nature prompt residents to spend greater time outside, collectively and communally managing the space.
- Community Gardens; gardens maintained and influenced by the community, to be enjoyed by all
- Communal play, including a small park and games
- Providing clustered seating to encourage greater social interactions and spaces
- Community Allotments, to serve as both educational but also allowing sustainable growth
Homes and buildings
Our Proposed development contains a mix of house types and tenures, designed to meet a range of housing needs, which are visually integrated by a number of design principles which are established across the site.
- All of the properties within the development are tenure blind which means that the design, space standards and material palette are identical for affordable housing and private sale/rent.
- All properties have been designed to meet or exceed the technical housing standards nationally described space standard.
- Internal house plans are designed to meet the changing needs of modern living, with the introduction of home-working/office spaces.
- Timber cladding, strong gable ends, and a pedestrian-focused public realm which uses green spaces to knit the proposed development back into the local community, form the heart of the concept proposal.
Street typologies – terraced housing. The terrace house is the most of common style of home within the proposed development. They vary in size and include a mix of two, three and four bedroom homes, with the two bedroom two storey home being most widely used.