UK’s first garden city in 100 years is £3.9BILLION ‘major destination’ with 15,000 homes, 50 parks & new supermarkets
HUGE plans to create the UK’s first garden city in a century are underway.
The ambitious proposals will transform unused land into a bustling green city and are slated to be finished in the next decade.
The idea for Ebbsfleet Garden City was born in 2015 following soaring demand for more houses in Kent.
Costing almost £4 billion, the plans aim to create the first garden city in 100 years across 2,500 acres of brownfield land on the Kent Thames Riverside.
Ebbsfleet will feature a staggering 15,000 new homes with 50 new parks and open spaces.
Green and blue space will comprise 40% of the city by 2035, which is when the project is expected to be finished.
It will, according to developers, become a place for Brits to “grow a family, build a business, socialise, and enjoy a unique city-country lifestyle on the edge of London and Kent.”
The planning application is expected to be submitted later this year.
It will be made up of a collection of brownfield development sites within Dartford and Gravesham Boroughs.
Three major projects comprise the Ebbsfleet Garden City: Ebbsfleet Central, Northfleet Embankment and Community buildings and spaces.
Ebbsfleet Central will be a mixed-use residential and commercial area and will feature around 2,100 homes, of which 35 per cent are Affordable Housing.
It will also include up to 100,000 square metres of office floor space and 10,000 square metres of retail floor space.
This will be for restaurants, bars, cafes and supermarkets.
A great option for commuters, Ebbsfleet Central is just 17 minutes from Central London.
It is hoped that the revamped area will become a “magnet for inclusive economic growth” and a “destination of choice for investment and innovation”.
Ebbsfleet Development Corporation submitted the outline of the plans for the first phase of new development in Ebbsfleet Central in 2022.
This includes building new leisure facilities, a new school and more open spaces for future residents.
It also involves building the Eastgate Community Building in the middle of Springhead Park.
This will be a church and a local community centre.
It comes after Britain’s newest town – built next to a major motorway – was set to cost a whopping £2.5billion with restaurants, shops and sports facilities.
The Elms Park development, located in the north of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was approved by local authorities yesterday.
Councils have given the go-ahead to the massive new town serving almost 9,000 people.
It will be situated on the outskirts of the Cotswolds, just off junction 10 of the M5, and will feature roughly 60 acres for employment land.
Tewkesbury Borough Council described the approval of the 4,115 homes as the “biggest decision” it had ever made.
The plans include a 25-acre business park, a hotel, shops, cafes, new schools, healthcare facilities and a transport hub.
Elms Park Consortium, led by house builders Bloor Homes and Persimmon, claims that the project will create as many as 8,000 jobs in the area.
It estimates that the development will provide 1,000 affordable homes while generating up to £300m for the local economy each year.
Rob White, agent for the applicant, said: “Approximately £25m will be spent on community infrastructure.
“It will contribute £300 million a year into the sub-regional economy, creating and supporting over 8,000 new jobs, with 30 apprenticeships a year during construction over 20 years.
“Over 4000 new homes will be built, providing for a new community of around 9,000 residents, many of whom will already be living in the area.
“Approximately £50 million pounds will be spent on providing new schools, including a secondary school and two primary schools on site.
“A sports hub containing new facilities for cricket, football, tennis, and an all-weather 3G pitch will be provided on site along with significant contributions to local rugby and hockey clubs.
“They are committed to bringing forward Elms Park as a well-designed, sustainable and healthy place where the new community can thrive.”