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5 April 2012
Greenwich Millennium Village Limited, a joint venture development by Countryside Properties and Taylor Wimpey, in association with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), has been granted planning permission for its application relating to phases three, four and five of the Village. The outline application covers 1,746 mixed-tenure new homes, of which 459 homes are the subject of a detailed permission.
The design of the new phases, undertaken by a team led by Jestico + Whiles, including architects Peter Barber Architects and Studio 54 Architecture, has already been endorsed by both the Design Council CABE and the Greater London Authority (GLA). As part of the planning discussions, the design was also commended by the Port of London Authority (PLA).
The PLA commented: “The Thames is a busy working river and this design offers an innovative solution that should allow stylish residential accommodation to co-exist next to essential riverside cargo operations with the impact minimised as far as possible.”
Other consultants contributing to the project include Grontmij, working on landscape, XCO2, advising on low energy solutions and acoustic consultants Sandy Brown Associates.
The original masterplan and some of the buildings in earlier phases were designed by the late Ralph Erskine during the 1990s and the new design seeks to update his vision. The scheme includes commercial and community buildings, new public realm and all associated landscaping, the objective of which is to create an exemplar of urban design that is an effective response to the immediate context and completes the community, whilst acknowledging the Erskine masterplan design legacy.
The new design offers a ‘human-scale’ scheme that uses a mixture of townhouses and apartments in lower rise buildings of between three and five storeys, to focus strongly on street life. It uses traditional street patterns with narrower mews, in a way that is compatible with the ‘courtyard’ design language of the initial phases, yet establishes its own identity. The initial phases of the Village featured semi-private landscaped courtyards, and the refreshing approach by the Jestico + Whiles team offers an alternative that is in line with the founding principles of the original design. The high quality of the design ensures that it can accommodate future changes to residents’ styles of living.
Heinz Richardson, Director of Jestico + Whiles, said: “The creation of sustainable neighbourhoods is at the heart of our approach to the masterplan: creating places in which people want to live through different stages of their lives.
Our aim is to encourage the development of a real community through our design. Urban squares within the network of streets will offer places for children to play and for social events to take place, while pedestrians and cyclists will be given priority in the heart of the Village.”
Sustainability is a key attribute of the new designs, with the aim of reinforcing the Village’s credentials as a leader in high-density sustainable living. It is envisaged that the future phases will incorporate an array of passive and active energy management measures, which may include Combined Heat & Power (gas-fired and biomass / biofuel) and rainwater harvesting.
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Notes
Taylor Wimpey Central London is dedicated to providing up-market, lifestyle led residences in and around Central London, developing sites in some of the Capital’s most desirable locations and delivering space-making regeneration schemes.
Taylor Wimpey UK, part of Taylor Wimpey plc, builds around 10,000 homes a year, developing hundreds of new communities across the UK.
Taylor Wimpey is a responsible homebuilder, which is committed to health and safety, providing excellent customer care, engaging with local communities, promoting environmental sustainability and encouraging innovative design.
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) is the single, national housing and regeneration delivery agency for England. Our vision is to create opportunity for people to live in homes they can afford in places they want to live, by enabling local authorities and communities to deliver the ambition they have for their own areas.
From April 2012 the Homes and Communities Agency’s London functions will be devolved to the GLA.
For more information visit: www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/newsevent
Jestico + Whiles is an award winning architectural and interior design practice with offices in London and Prague. The practice has grown steadily since the formation of the partnership by Tom Jestico and John Whiles in 1977, and in recent years the practice has undergone particularly rapid growth as it diversified into a range of different sectors, building on its reputation for design quality and innovative solutions to challenging briefs. The firm has a longstanding reputation for innovative and sustainable housing both in the public and private sectors.
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Information correct as at 17/04/2012