This one's where the
Man in Space pub now stands, closed and forlorn,
in Stockwood, near a parade of run-down shops. This is no depressed
area, though... like most of the Stockwood 'plateau', the immediate
area is filled with decent, privately owned semis. In fact the
developer is at pains to assure us that this “proposal
is not for high density apartments. It is for 14 family sized homes
with parking and garden.“ Four pairs of semis, plus two 'triple'
units, according to the indicative plans.
Much like the rest of the neighbourhood, then, except that on this one garages won't come as part of the package; it looks like the front 'gardens' will be paved over instead. There's a playpark over the road, and the bus stops for a frequent service to town (3 or 4 miles) are under two hundred metres away. The pub will be gone, though!
Much like the rest of the neighbourhood, then, except that on this one garages won't come as part of the package; it looks like the front 'gardens' will be paved over instead. There's a playpark over the road, and the bus stops for a frequent service to town (3 or 4 miles) are under two hundred metres away. The pub will be gone, though!
All in all an
unremarkable development. If it goes ahead, Stockwood will be more
Stockwood still. The development won't provide local employment, it
won't reduce the need to travel, it won't provide any new amenity.
It could - if the planning conditions are right - include some
solar panels and even some better land drainage than the present use
provides, but it's unlikely to give more than a nod to such
progressive ideas.
But it would be
utterly amazing if it included such innovative (though proven)
standards as
Passivhaus , though
many of us believe this must be the norm if we're to take climate
change seriously. And it won't touch the demand for affordable
housing in a market that virtually excludes low earners. Nor will
begin to recognise that more cars are bad news... we might expect a
good 20 to 30 extra just from this 'infill' development, even though
shops, library, health centre, school, and public transport are all
an easy flat walk away. The notion of a 'car-free', or even low
car-dependency development, won't come into the planning process.
Why not? We know
about climate change. We know about homelessness and
unaffordability. We know traffic on our roads is expected to
increase 30% by 2030 if we go on as we are.
It's mad to just
carry on as before. Small sites like the Man in Space are the big
opportunity, the low hanging fruit, that can lead the change.
Leaving it to the speculative market delivers only the bland, the
unadventurous, and a quick and easy profit, with all the real costs
externalised.
2 comments:
Well a look at your picture says it all!!!
Miserable type individual that lives in a different world.
Sorry Pete but cars are a necessity. As a builder I have to travel, I can't very well move to within walking distance of my latest site, (I'll be on 2 maybe 3 sites throughout the year) and even if I could, how do you suggest I get my tools to site without the combustion engine?...
These houses will be nice and modern and with solar panels!
As for affordability, 195k is quite affordable for a couple that bring in collectively 40k a year, which if you've half an education should easily be attainable.
So Pete, I beg you, please start a construction company because you seem to believe you could develop something better and more affordable that the professionals out there!
I'm not sure which picture suggests a 'Miserable type individual that lives in a different world'? Commenting as 'anonymous' does hint, though, at a wish to be seen as indistinguishable from everyone else, and the content of what you say does rather reinforce that. Are you helping build on this site, perhaps?
Believe it or not, I think cars are here to stay, and they can be very useful, essential even. But that doesn't mean everyone needs one, any more than everyone needs a house with a third bedroom, a second bathroom, a stair-lift, a large garden, or any of the other things that we all regard as optional (if we can afford them). There's not the slightest reason why every house needs a garage, or space for a car on or off-road. A car may be vital to you, but not everyone needs one, not everyone can drive one, not everyone can afford to buy and run one.
Suggesting that a brownfield site like the Man in Space site could be 'car-free', or should meet the best modern insulation standards, isn't exactly revolutionary. The original post explains why such ideas need bringing forward, and of course it's on new build sites that it's easiest to do. The pity is that the building industry is so conservative and intolerant of progress.
NB There's a Passivhaus development under way in Southville – details at http://urbisliving.co.uk/Projects/north-street.aspx
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