Investing in Village Life for All

Frequently Asked Questions

Following our public event and online engagement in July 2022, Dudsbury Homes wishes to provide responses to some of the key comments raised on the proposals by the local community and groups.

Who Are Dudsbury Homes?

Dudsbury Homes is based in Dorset. Its management team has significant experience of delivering developments that have contributed to the creation of great places across the South of England. This experience includes:

• The Dorset Green H2 project providing the South West’s first hydrogen production facility, using solar power to generate green hydrogen fuel alongside other Renewable energy production at Canford Resource Park in Poole
• Planning Consent for 695 new homes at Canford Park in Poole and for 324 new homes at Canford Paddock in Poole, alongside 16,000m2 of low carbon employment space.
• Planning and delivery of a comprehensive expansion of a Doctor's Surgery and pharmacy in Wimborne.
• Planning consent and management of key infrastructure for over 300 new homes and 2.5Ha of employment land in Hampshire.
• Planning and delivery of key infrastructure for over 2,500 new homes together with a 3 form entry primary school and associated commercial/retail uses at Millbrook Park in Mill Hill, London.
• The construction, operation and ongoing expansion of the popular Canford Park SANG
• The ongoing operation of waste management for Dorset at the Canford Resource Park, Poole.
• The delivery of premier leisure and sporting venues in Dorset and Hampshire, including Remedy Oak Golf Club, Tower Park in Poole and The Ageas Bowl
• Significant and critical infrastructure works delivered through partnerships with Electricity, Water and Gas companies, including the delivery of 250km of drinking water mains with Wessex Water.
• Local Developments in Ferndown, Wimborne, Verwood as well as award winning development in Sturminster Newton and Gillingham.
• Development projects in Tisbury, Christchurch, and Throop.
• Planning Consent for the largest new town in Hampshire.

What Infrastructure will be delivered?

Dudsbury Homes is purposefully proposing a scale of development which will enable the provision of meaningful infrastructure delivery alongside new housing, which will not only meet the needs of new residents, but also provides much needed services and facilities for existing Alderholt residents.

Dudsbury Homes is committed to delivering:

• 35% affordable housing across a range of tenures, including shared ownership, affordable rent and First Homes
• Age-appropriate housing, including a new care home adjacent to the new Market Centre
• Improvements to St James’ School at the current site including further school years and forms of entry
• A new Medical Centre to be delivered in partnership with a local practitioner
• Suitable Accessible Natural Greenspace (SANG)
• Public Open Space, including an additional 5ha extension to the recreation ground offering improved bio-diversity.
• A new Monday-Saturday hourly bus service travelling from Cranborne-Alderholt-Fordingbridge-Ringwood, funded for the first 5 years
• Full fibre connection for the entire development
• Solar arrays providing locally sourced renewable energy
• A commitment to a low carbon energy strategy for the development
• A31 junction improvement
• Over 7 miles of new cycle routes and footpath connections including safe routes to Ringwood Forest
• Highway improvements beyond the development boundary (see below)
• Proactive management of public spaces through on-site estate management creating an economic footprint for the development and the wider Alderholt Area
• Sustainable surface water and foul sewage infrastructure

Other key matters raised

Transport

Significant transport work has been undertaken to date and is still being progressed.

Dudsbury Homes undertook road capacity modelling in 2019 in liaison with Dorset Council. The Council has published a paper which includes our work and is available on the authority’s website. It concludes that the road network can accommodate up to 2,000 new homes without any implications for the network in capacity terms.

Whilst the proposed development will obviously result in an increase in journeys, existing traffic levels are very low and consequently the highway network is underutilised. The current traffic generated from Alderholt does not head in or out in only one direction. Instead the traffic is spread across different routes to access other locations.

It is recognised that on some routes there are pinch points. These are being analysed to determine the impact they have on traffic flow and whether any mitigation will be necessary. Such measures could include widening of approaches, changing the junction type, or improving visibility.

Analysis has been undertaken of trip generation and vehicle movements that the development will generate. The number of trips generated will be less than that generated by a purely residential scheme. This is because the provision of services and facilities will result in the need for fewer trips than would otherwise be made as people will be able to draw on the provision of new facilities and amenities within Alderholt.

Education

We have held discussions with local education providers and listened to views form the community and we are committed to invest in the best possible education for children in Alderholt.

It is recognised that it is not an ideal situation for children to be bussed to schools some distance from Alderholt. Therefore, a partnership with Burgate Secondary School makes sense and this continues to be developed.

After exploring options for a new school as part of the development proposals, we understand that St James’ School wishes to instead invest in its current site. To do this in a meaningful way the school needs to ensure there is a viable future supply of pupils. The proposed Alderholt Meadows development will provide this security and Dudsbury Homes will be legally committed to facilitate and fully fund all expansion requirements.

Medical Services

Many people commented that a new Doctor’s surgery would require a population of circa 20,000 people. Having engaged with local practitioners this is not correct and from a development and funding perspective there is no barrier to the provision of a centre that caters for GPs and other complementary services as part of Alderholt Meadows.

At the present time, most of Alderholt residents currently travel to The Fordingbridge GP practice for GP services. Discussions have therefore been on-going with The Fordingbridge GP practice who have confirmed that should the population of Alderholt grow significantly, they would be a willing partner to take up a dedicated health centre in Alderholt as an extension to their existing operations, providing a range of clinical and complementary services here in Alderholt.

A new Doctor’s Surgery in Alderholt would not only be a hub for GP services, but also provide space for other practitioners such as physiotherapists to deliver a health facility where residents need them. A dental practice and pharmacy have committed to providing services in Alderholt

Sewerage/drainage

Alderholt sits within the River Avon catchment and therefore is subject to the constraints placed on development by the current approach to phosphates. Two options of equal merit are being taken forward, either of which provides a solution.

The first is improvements to the local pumping station that would reduce the amount of phosphate discharge and may negate any need for further mitigation. The second option is to provide a self-contained package treatment works on site that removes phosphate and other nutrients. Either option offers a solution, but it may be that there will need to be some mitigation associated with either option. Such mitigation may include creation of wetlands or funding of projects within the Avon catchment to off-set any small residual effects.

The Government has recently announced that it is to place a statutory responsibility on sewerage companies to upgrade facilities by 2030. At the same time, it was announced that Natural England would set up a national mitigation scheme from autumn 2022 that would allow development to offset mitigation by the purchase of credits from mitigation schemes. The measures being considered for the Alderholt Meadows development will benefit from the government’s announcement and contribute to the improvement of water quality within the Avon catchment.

The development will include swales and rain gardens to reduce run-off and enhance biodiversity.

Bus provision

Discussions with local bus operators have indicated that the scale of development will justify the viable operation of a service between Cranborne and Ringwood via Alderholt and Fordingbridge. This would be an hourly return service from early morning to early evening Monday to Saturday. Dudsbury Homes would fund set up costs and operational costs for five years after which the operator would run as a viable service made possible by the additional homes provided at Alderholt Meadows.

SANG/Biodiversity

Significant new areas of SANG (Suitable Accessible Natural Greenspace) will provide the residents of Alderholt with access to new informal recreation areas. Discussions with Natural England have led to the provision of SANG to the north, west and south of the village. It will intercept trips to Cranborne Common and provide connections from the development that will link back to the existing village. It will act as a buffer to important wildlife sites.

SANG also presents an opportunity to turn biodiverse poor agricultural land into a significant wildlife opportunity. The SANG land will be made available for nature improvement projects to support increased biodiversity.

Housing

Dudsbury Homes recognises the importance of providing affordable homes and is committed to ensuring that 35% of the 1,700 homes are provided as multi-tenure affordable homes. This includes all affordable tenures for all age groups including First Homes, the government’s scheme for first time buyers with prices capped at £250,000.

Across the rest of the site, a mix of housing to cater for all ages is envisaged including sheltered accommodation and a care home. It is also proposed to make provision for self and custom builders within the overall mix.

Dudsbury Homes is partnering with one locally based and one national affordable housing provider, who will deliver and manage the affordable homes at Alderholt Meadows.

Legacy

Significant infrastructure investment will be required to deliver services and facilities, enhanced recreation, green infrastructure, bus service, sewerage/drainage, footpaths, cycleways and roads and others. There is also the question of how this will be maintained. It is currently proposed to establish an estate management company with an estate office in the new local centre that will be responsible for the future upkeep of those elements of infrastructure vested in the company.

The funding will be generated from an annual management charge. The management company will include residents on its board so that investment in improvements is informed by local people.

We would love to hear from you

As a local company, Dudsbury Homes is particularly keen to meet and discuss proposals and opportunities with local people and groups. We earnestly encourage any interested parties to get in touch and either have a meaningful say in what happens or to better understand how we deliver this vision.

You can contact our team any time on freephone 0800 080 3269 or by email at alderholtmeadows@devcomms.co.uk.