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Sustainability
Location
Barton Farm is a highly sustainable location, on the fringe of the existing urban area, yet within a mile of the city centre.
The site is within walking and cycling distance of the city centre and railway station and will also be well served by existing and new bus services connecting to key locations within the city.
Commuting
Winchester currently suffers from a significant imbalance between local housing supply and jobs. This means that many people who work locally are unable to live locally.
This leads directly to very high levels of in-commuting to the city centre and over increasingly long distances - Winchester has a higher proportion of people travelling 10 kilometres or more to work than any other town or city in the County.
The provision of 2,000 new homes within walking and cycling distance of the city centre, and with good public transport links - including around 800 affordable homes - will help to tackle Winchester's current problems of high house prices, congestion, pollution and long distance commuting.
Low Carbon Development
Investigations are continuing as to how we can promote energy efficiency, reduce consumption and utilise low and zero carbon technologies. This work continues to evolve and while final proposals have still to emerge, the masterplan envisages that much of the development will be served by an on-site combined heat and power plant.
Green Travel
Barton Farm will cut carbon emissions by reducing the high levels of inward commuting Winchester currently experiences. In addition, CALA's green travel plans include:
- Subsidising new buses to service the site.
- Supporting the introduction of a car-pooling system.
- Encouraging cycling and walking by the provision of an extensive network of dedicated cycle/footways across the site as well as off-site improvements.
Resources
The efficient use of water will be a key consideration in the Barton Farm development. CALA will ensure water saving devices such as dual flush toilets, flow reducing/aerating taps and low water usage white goods are installed throughout. Opportunities for rainwater harvesting and grey water recycling will also be investigated.
Wherever possible, waste will be minimised using locally reclaimed or recycled materials and by ensuring a waste management scheme is in place during construction. All households will be provided with composting and recycling facilities.
Code for Sustainable Homes
As recognition of global warming and the need to tackle its effects has gained widespread acceptance so the Government is seeking to establish appropriate planning policies, particularly in relation to new housing. As a result, the impact of new development on climate change will be at the heart of decisions as to where and what we build. CALA fully embraces this emerging philosophy.
The Code for Sustainable Homes was published by the Government at the end of 2006 to provide the house building industry with a single national standard to guide the design and construction of sustainable homes, covering matters including energy/CO2 emissions, water consumption, building materials and surface water run-off.
Since then, both government policy and practical implementation solutions continue to evolve and numerous consultations have taken place, the most recent being on the Definition of Zero Carbon Homes (
PDF: 2.6Mb). CALA’s proposals for Barton Farm will embrace this guidance.
TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORT
As well as providing a completely new approach to the city by re-routing Andover Road through the site, the new design embeds alternatives to the private car, incorporating excellent public transport accessibility, footways, paths and cycle links. Pedestrian and cycle priority will be provided throughout creating streets not highways.
DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE
Barton Farm will aspire to achieve the highest quality of urban design, with a strong sense of identity. It will create a new community, accommodating a diverse population living in a variety of housing, which will evolve and grow in a structured way and be adaptable to future change, and where opportunities for entrepreneurship will be promoted. It will be structured around a network of green space that defines the northern edge to the city, responds to the landscape character and topography, increases bio-diversity and incorporates sustainable urban drainage.