After six public consultation meetings and constant liaison with residents in the area off Northern Road, Hab Oakus planning application for ‘The Triangle’, 42 sustainable
homes on a brownfield infill site to the north of Swindon town centre was agreed by Swindon Council's planning committee on 13 October.

Eight councillors voted in favour, two objected and two abstained.

In the debate ward councillor Kevin Small said the community felt there were too many houses on the site and the traffic generation in the area was not acceptable. "Residents of Northern Road and Surrey Road already suffer from car parking problems."

Fellow councillor Des Moffatt said the planning committee should not be taken in by the spin operation of Kevin McCloud and Green Square and demand that the site be used for elderly person's housing and extra care facilities.

Kevin McCloud, supporting the application said, “this proposal is about providing the fertile ground for a community to grow. There is an appetite for this all over Swindon.”

Councillor Vera Tomlinson, right, proposed that the application be accepted, saying, "this is an innovative application which I welcome. We cannot continue to see the same housing that we see all across North Swindon. It's high quality and exciting and we should allow it to proceed." 

After the decision was taken Kevin told swindonlink, "Swindon took a brave decision today and I thanked coun Tomlinson for her strong support for our project. The whole process has been nerve racking and the HAB team are immensely relieved that we can go ahead. 

"The Triangle site goes further than government guidelines and this planning success is about Swindon wanting to change and move forward and build high quality housing which will set the template for future development in the town."

HAB development manager Isabel Allen said, "I one point I thought it was lost; I was terrified that the application wouldn't go through. Thank you Vera Tomlinson for her support."

Vic O'Brian of Green Square Housing Association said 21 building contractors had expressed interest in winning the right to build The Triangle. "We'll be interviewing them to shortlist the ones capable of taking on this project. It's very different, nobody has built anything like this so we'll be looking for a very wide range of skills from our builders, beyond just the traditional ability to put up houses."

Building should start by the end of the year with the first occupations proposed for Christmas 2010.

The HAB Oakus team, from left, Mike Roberts, Kevin McCloud, Isabel Allen, Daniel Mulligan of Glen Howells Architects, Frances Grey of Green Square, Chris Hoare, Vic O'Brian of Green Square

Designed by Glenn Howells Architects working with landscape architect Studio Engleback and environmental engineer Max Fordham, the project seeks to create a contemporary interpretation of Swindon’s mid-Victorian railway cottages – flexible, affordable and efficient to build and manage. Image below: Glenn Howells Architects

The scheme consists of two and two-and-a-half storey terraces comprising two, three, and four-bedroom homes around a central village green. The east and west terraces are both terminated by three-storey corner blocks, each housing three apartments and providing focal points as you enter and leave the site.

Dwellings have been designed to meet Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes and are ‘future-proofed’ with the fixings, connections and space to allow the retro-fitting of solar
thermal and PV panels.

The architectural expression is deliberately low-key, deriving its character from perfect proportions, carefully-defined details and high-quality execution; a well-ordered backdrop which will allow the extensive landscaping and greenery to define the character of the site.

The roofline is punctuated by chimney-like ventilation cowls. A subtle colour palette, drawn  from Swindon’s urban fabric, adds a sense of depth to the facades. Gabion walls to the front of the dwellings minimise the visual impact of car parking, conceal meter cupboards, recycling and bins while providing nooks and crannies to encourage wildlife.

As well as private rear gardens, the scheme provides a range of public and semi-public spaces to encourage recreational use, hobby gardening and strong social interaction between neighbours.

The central green includes a wet meadow, which forms part of the sustainable drainage strategy, and a wildlife garden as well as an area for community activities and informal children’s play. The kitchen garden in the north east corner of the site will be planted with fruit trees with raised beds and soft hedging while the southern kitchen garden will house poly-tunnels in order to extend the season and range of crops grown. Image: Studio Engleback

Existing trees are to be protected where possible and will be supplemented by locallyoccurring native species trees and shrubs. The landscape strategy throughout the scheme maximises the opportunities for food production with kitchen gardens, vegetable patches, allotments, planters, fruit trees and currant bushes.

The public realm has been designed to be inviting to cyclists and pedestrians and to encourage community enjoyment of external space. Circulation space is designed along Home Zone principles creating an inclusive environment which links, rather than separates,
different elements of the scheme. Pedestrians, cyclists and motorists share a single tree-lined entrance road leading from Northern Road.

The project is being delivered as part of a wider strategy to introduce One Planet Living principles developed by WWF and BioRegional to Swindon and is accompanied by a raft of broader community initiatives including a neighbourhood car club, subsidized bus passes and bicycles and the provision of real-time public transport information services in every home.

Hab Oakus is a joint venture between Kevin McCloud’s development company, Hab, and the housing group GreenSquare. The Triangle is being delivered with funding from the Homes & Communities Agency.

•Glenn Howells Architects was established in 1990 and has built up a strong reputation over the last 18 years as one of the foremost design led architectural practices in the UK. The practice has won numerous national and international design competitions and received over 50 awards for projects ranging from cultural buildings and housing to large-scale urban mixed-use developments.

www.glennhowells.co.uk

Below: The former nursery, market garden and caravan park where the Hab Oakus housing development is proposed.