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.
Dudsbury Homes
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:
- 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.
Not only does Dudsbury Homes’ management have the experience of delivering significant developments it is partnering with a wide range of renowned businesses who would, subject to planning permission, deliver elements of the vision for Alderholt Meadows.
Our delivery partners include some of the most trusted names in the development industry, including:
- CG Fry & Son – Traditional house builder and placemaker
- Crest Nicholson – Leading property developer
- Magna Homes – local Housing Association
- McCarthy & Stone – Developer of Retirement Homes
- AHH – Affordable Housing and Healthcare Group
- Kubo Homes – Sustainable design
Dudsbury Homes is also in detailed discussions with Homes England, the Government’s housing accelerator, who are keen to assist in delivering our vision for Alderholt Meadows, including with infrastructure funding, to enable the delivery of better homes and communities across Dorset.
How will Dudsbury Homes manage the site beyond the planning process?
Dudsbury Homes is committed to the long-term stewardship and management Alderholt Meadows to ensure the high-quality design and management of common areas.
The SANG and public open space will be retained by Dudsbury Homes or an appointed estate management company who will be responsible for their operation and maintenance in perpetuity. The management may also extend to some of the roads, drainage, parks, parking strategy and public realm as part of a wider estate management provision.
An estate office will be located in the community hub to manage the common infrastructure and act as a hub for community liaison, event management and to coordinate the phased build out of the infrastructure and new homes across the estate.
Environment
Current planning policy requirements identify a need for Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) to be provided for every new residential dwelling in south east Dorset. The purpose of a SANG is to provide an area of open natural greenspace to help reduce and divert recreational pressures that may otherwise arise on protected landscapes.
In the case of Alderholt, Dudsbury Homes is proposing to deliver multiple large areas of SANG to provide an alternative recreational destination to the nearby Dorset Heathlands, and these areas will incorporate diverse wildlife habitats including wildflower grassland, wetland and woodland.
As well as protecting important landscapes, SANGs also provide a fantastic resource for people to spend time with friends and family and connecting with the natural environment, this type of recreation is shown to promote wellbeing and will encourage social exercise.
Members of Dudsbury Homes management team were behind the delivery of the extremely popular SANG at Canford Park in Poole. Canford Park SANG has proved to be a huge success with approximately 100,000 people visiting the SANG during 2022, who would otherwise be spending leisure time at protected environments and would inadvertently impact important habitats in these locations.
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 poor agricultural land into a significant wildlife opportunity. The SANG land will be made available for nature improvement projects to support increased biodiversity.
Overall the proposals will provide significantly more public open space than is required in planning policy, comprising an additional 3.8 hectares of public open space above the policy requirement.
Environmental Impact Statement
The future planning application will include an Environmental Impact Assessment, including a non-technical summary. The planning application will be part of the public record and available on the Dorset Council website.
Biodiversity
The Environment Act, when implemented, will set out a requirement for new development to provide in excess of 10% biodiversity net gain.
The Alderholt Meadows development will surpass the required level of biodiversity gain.
Biodiversity net gain is measured across habitats, hedgerows and ditches which all provide important biodiversity functions. The proposed Alderholt Meadows development will provide a biodiversity net gain of 13.16% in habitats; 10.74% in hedgerows and 69.80% in ditches.
Infrastructure delivery
To make Alderholt a sustainable settlement it is imperative that infrastructure to support the future population of Alderholt is provided. Dudsbury Homes is committed to a scale of development which will enable the development to fund 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 a £70 Million investment, providing:
- 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 Village 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 12 acre extension to the recreation ground offering improved biodiversity.
- 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
- Highway improvements beyond the development boundary (see Connectivity page)
- Proactive management of public spaces through on-site estate management creating an economic footprint for the development and the wider Alderholt Area
The final specification and timing of new infrastructure to be delivered as part of the Alderholt Meadows development will be agreed through the planning process with Dorset Council and secured through a legal agreement, called a Section 106 agreement, which will legally link the provision of new housing to the delivery of infrastructure at specific trigger points.
Education
We have held discussions with local education providers and listened to views from 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 also committed to providing services in Alderholt
Transport
Significant transport work has been undertaken to date.
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.
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.
Resolving pinch points
During our public events we were told that some routes in and out of Alderholt had pinch points. We have therefore reviewed the three key routes out of Alderholt (B3078 west to Cranborne, B3078 east to Fordingbridge and Harbridge Drove south towards A31) to determine whether widening is required for two large vehicles to pass, and if so the specific locations.
This work has been based on Ordnance Survey mapping and mapping of the public highway provided by the highway authorities. The study has shown that widening of the carriageway is deliverable without the need for third party land, subject to review at detailed design stage.
The requirement for these works and specific designs will be confirmed through undertaking a topographical survey (or similar) and such works will likely be secured through a planning condition that would need to be discharged before work starts on building new homes.
Further information regarding any such mitigation will be covered in more detail within the Transport Assessment and drawings that would accompany any future planning application.
A31 improvements
Dudsbury Homes is undertaking detailed and ongoing discussions with National Highways in relation to any improvements that may need to be made to the A31.
Current discussions have indicated the opportunity to signalise the eastbound off-slip and widening to reduce queuing for vehicles trying to come off the A31 and generally turn left and route north towards Alderholt/Verwood.
If such improvements are deemed to be required, this would improve the current situation on the A31 which is forecast to involve increased queuing towards the mainline even before the implementation of the proposed development.
Further information regarding any such mitigation will be subject to scrutiny and review by National Highways.
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.
Utilities, Water and Drainage
Utility services
Dudsbury Homes have approached the local District Network Operators (DNO’s) for electricity and drinking water. Due to changes in building regulations houses will no longer be heated by gas from 2025 and therefore gas services will be limited to non-residential uses on the development.
As well as discussions with network operators, the scale of the development provides the opportunity to bring forward a sustainable energy strategy, including providing on-site renewables that will help reduce the demand on the local utility services.
This has involved detailed and ongoing discussions with Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) for the electricity demand for the development.
Discussions have also been undertaken with Bournemouth Water for the drinking water supply for the development and to understand the proposed point of connection onto the existing water network to serve the development.
Recent changes to legislation mean that Dudsbury Homes will provide a fee for each dwelling to be connected to the water network, the proceeds of which Bournemouth Water are obligated to use to upgrade their network to serve the development. Therefore, any pre-existing or future issues with water pressure in the existing network, will need to be addressed by Bournemouth Water as part of their network.
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.
Energy Strategy
Alderholt has adopted a holistic approach to sustainable design from the outset, this has incorporated architectural, environmental and energy strategies embedded with sustainable principles to create a unique proposal.
A circa 69% carbon reduction on the notional Part L 2021 building regulation could be achieved by reducing energy demand, this would be by the adoption of the recommended LETI (London Energy Transformation Initiative) Climate Emergency Design Guide. The proposed development follows a fabric first approach by using LETI building fabric guidance. Energy efficiency will be achieved by supplying heating and hot water through low carbon heat generation, this could be in the form of Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) systems within each building connected to shared ground loop array (2-3 properties per borehole).
There is potential to harness renewable energy through the inclusion of a solar PV farm to the west of the site. This aims to meet a net zero balance in terms of operational energy. Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) are also being explored alongside the PV Farm for revenue generation and storage of surplus energy from the PV.
Electric Vehicle (EV) charging will be provided across the site to meet the growing demand for EV users.