Developers Vision Of New Neighbourhood Revealed
Sketches of how a former school site in Ashtead will be transformed into a ‘new neighbourhood’ have been revealed by developers for the first time.
Oracle Residential submitted plans to develop the Parsons Mead site to Mole Valley District Council last Friday.
As exclusively reported in last week’s Advertiser, the developers want to build 103 ‘high quality’ homes, 31 of which will be ‘affordable’.
There will be two entrances to the site from Ottways Lane, which runs parallel to Parsons Mead, and each home will have at least one car parking space.
Two rugby pitches and a cricket pitch are also planned for the site with a sports pavilion and an adjoining car park.
Martin Bellinger, Director at Oracle Residential, said: ‘the plans meet a series of desires which were expressed to us by residents, including the delivery of areas of open space for public use and a new green edge to Ottways Lane with a safe public footpath. We will also keep and restore the junior school hall for community use and build homes which will be in character with the existing surroundings. Our aim was to achieve a new neighbourhood which would complement and enhance Ashtead village and we think we have achieved this.’
Oracle Residential purchased the Ashtead site for £16 million in August 2007 following the closure of Parsons Mead girl’s school in July 2006.
Curious homeowners were then given two opportunities to view the property developers and architects John Thompson and Partners’ initial ideas for the site, on November 3 and 14, 2007.
The original design suggested 150 residential units, broken up into 90 homes, 18 flats and 42 affordable homes, would be built on the site.
Charles Campion, partner at John Thompson and Partners, added: ‘It was very important for us to consider carefully all the views we received and we are confident that Ashtead residents will recognise that Oracle has taken people’s views on board.’
Oracle will be holding a further public exhibition of the submitted plans next Thursday (July 10) from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Junior School hall at the site.
This will give people the chance to view the proposals and put questions to both Oracle and the architects.