Ten years after securing planning permission, we have revisited Great Bowden to see how a carefully planned extension to the village has settled into its surroundings and become an established part of the community.
Today, mature landscaping, well-defined street scenes and strong connections between homes and green spaces demonstrate how the development has become a natural extension of village life.
A quick look back
In 2016, Richborough secured planning permission from Harborough District Council for 50 homes, including 16 affordable homes, alongside a 22-acre country park, community allotments and children’s play areas.
Located on the edge of the highly regarded village of Great Bowden in Leicestershire, much of which falls within a Conservation Area, our landscape-led scheme is the result of extensive urban design analysis and shaped through meaningful engagement with residents, stakeholders and the local authority, ensuring a contextually responsive and considered approach.
Through the iterative development and sharing of proposals, Richborough secured support for its design approach at an early stage. A detailed layout was then prepared to underpin the final masterplan, ensuring it aligned with local policy while remaining deliverable from a housebuilder’s perspective. Supporting sketches and plans were included within the Design and Access Statement to clearly articulate how and why key design principles should be carried through into a Reserved Matters application.
This project was an early test bed for our ‘Richborough Way’ ethos which brings together site and contextual analysis alongside stakeholder engagement to inform design-led placemaking. The Richborough Way has since been rolled out across our projects to help deliver high-quality developments that work for communities, nature and future residents alike.
Following the sale of the site to development partner Mulberry Homes in 2017, the scheme was successfully built out as Hursley Park and quickly sold out.
Ten years on – watch:
The 22 acre country park forms the green heart of Hursley Park and has become a well used asset for the wider community. A growers’ network operates from the allotments, Tai Chi sessions are held there in the warmer months and the Parish Council regularly encourages residents to take part in the Tree Council’s ‘Adopt A Tree’ planting initiative.
Nature has been embedded throughout the new landscape. Large wildflower meadows sit alongside sustainable urban drainage features, providing valuable wetland habitats. Existing hedgerows and mature trees have been retained and enhanced, while bird and bat boxes, hedgehog highways and habitat areas for amphibians and reptiles help support and create local biodiversity. Following intensive work by the local community, the area has now been designated as a Local Wildlife Site (a non-statutory designation that identifies areas of land important for wildlife and habitats). Selected by experts using ecological criteria through an extensive application and survey process, it highlights the site’s dual role as a haven for wildlife and a resource for communities.
A decade on, the scheme is testimony to how early technical diligence, landscape-led design and clear design governance help create high quality enduring places for both people and nature long after construction is complete.
Charlotte Lewis, Group Design Director at Richborough, said: “At Richborough, we believe that good design is key to creating places that endure and thrive over time. Our in-house teams bring together technical, environmental, and design expertise from the very earliest stage of a project. And through rigorous analysis, we create responsive, landscape-led masterplans that are visionary, well designed and deliverable.
“Collaboration is at the heart of our approach. By engaging closely with local communities and authorities, thoroughly testing proposals and establishing clear design principles, our masterplans create design frameworks with strong foundations for delivery.
“‘The Richborough Way’ gives confidence to communities, landowners, and delivery partners alike – ensuring that high-quality places are not only envisioned but successfully realised as we intended. And Hursley Park is an excellent example of how carefully planned outline proposals can translate into a successful new neighbourhood.”