Developer unveils detailed plans to add 259 homes to village

Nicholas Thomas, local democracy reporter

Housing developer Redrow has unveiled detailed plans for the latest stage of a major housing development on the edge of Newport.

The firm has applied for reserved matters planning permission to build a further 259 houses at its Great Milton Park development, off Cot Hill in Llanwern.

A new primary school and nursery, as well as sports pitches, will also be built there following an original deal struck with Newport City Council in 2009.

Residential neighbourhood

The project forms part of the wider transformation of the Llanwern area, which is growing from a small village on Newport’s rural fringe into a significant residential neighbourhood, thanks to the construction of several new housing estates.

When completed, the wider Redrow project will add more than a thousand new-build homes to the area, which has proved a hit with housebuilders owing to its close links to the M4.

South of the village, in a separate but even larger development at Glan Llyn, huge tracts of brownfield land once home to steel making operations are gradually being redeveloped for housing, too.

Back at the Great Milton Park site, Redrow’s most recent plans show it intends to build 169 houses on plots known as Hollies 5 and Hollies 6, and a further 90 houses on land known as Cedars 4.

Nearly one-fifth of the new homes will be classed as affordable housing, while the vast majority will be sold on the open market.

The firm is marketing the development as offering “three and four bedroom family homes in a superb country location, with a wealth of dedicated facilities right on your doorstep”, and says it will “grow to have its own schools, village centre and shops, along with acres of open space to enjoy”.

‘Arts and crafts style’

Planning statements by Redrow senior planning manager Zoe Aubrey show the proposed homes are to be built in the “arts and crafts style” already approved for the wider Llanwern development site, and will comprise a “good mix of house types, materials and roof forms”.

Each of the open market homes will have “large enclosed rear gardens”, while the properties classed as affordable housing will also have “good sized private gardens” designed to avoid overlooking.

Ms Aubrey said the project will “deliver much needed housing in a sustainable location approved for residential development”.

A new primary school is also earmarked for former agricultural land on the edge of the development, including space for 315 pupils and a 24-place nursery.

The plans also show an all-weather pitch known as a multi-use games area (MUGA), soft and hard play areas, and a car park are also included in the detailed designs.

If approved, the “attractive, contemporarily-designed” new facility will “be replete with modern school functions, providing a high-quality learning experience to serve the new community”, planning agent Steffan Harries, director of LRM Planning Ltd, said in a statement to the city council.

The various applications are currently out for consultation, and can be viewed on the Newport City Council website under references 24/0466 for Hollies 5 and 6, 24/0465 for Cedars 4, and 24/0537 for the new primary school.