This week marked a key milestone in our Garden Village project with the start of work on the interim link road which will provide access for the construction of the new Northern Access Road.
This is the first time people will actually see construction on our site and we were delighted to be joined by two of Cornwall Council’s Cabinet Members – Councillor Andrew Mitchell, the Portfolio Holder for Homes, and Councillor Geoff Brown, the Portfolio Holder for Transport – to cut the first turf for the new section of road.
Why are you building a new road at Langarth?
One of our key priorities at Langarth is to provide integrated and accessible transport links, with people prioritised over cars.
We want to give people choices in how they move around and access services. This means making it as safe and convenient as possible for people to get around on foot, bike and public transport, both within Langarth and into surrounding communities.
The NAR is being designed to be pedestrian friendly, with a 20mph speed limit and new footways and segregated cycleways along its entire 4km length.
We want people to use public transport wherever possible, and are planning to provide improved bus services linking to Treliske hospital and Truro, with bus stops in each local centre. Cycle parking, e-bike charging and seating areas at bus stops will help to encourage their use as community meeting areas.
There are also plans for an extra 600 spaces at the Langarth park and ride site and additional pedestrian crossings to link Threemilestone and Langarth.
An application for planning permission for the NAR is due to be submitted to Cornwall Council as part of a hybrid planning application, which includes outline planning permission for the wider Langarth scheme, in the Autumn.
If planning permission for the NAR is granted, construction work is expected to begin in September 2021 and be completed by Spring 2024.
Why do you need an interim link road ?
The link road will provide access for up to 300 homes and for the construction of the NAR which will connect all the developments on the Langarth site and provide a route from the garden village to the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske avoiding the A390.
All the funding for the NAR is being provided by the Government. The start of work on the link road follows the official signing of the £47.45m funding contract for the design and construction of the NAR by Homes England and Cornwall Council in August.
Planning permission for the interim link road was granted in March 2020. The road, which will be constructed by CORMAC Ltd, will run for 200 metres north parallel to the existing tree line, ending at the future junction with the Northern Access Road. It is due to be completed by Spring 2021.
It will be closed to normal traffic and turned into a bus gate ( subject to planning permission), following the opening of the major A390 West Langarth junction.
What about the environment?
Garden villages are by their nature green. We are working closely with environmental experts to minimise the impact of development on the natural environment and provide a net gain in biodiversity by up to 20% across the whole site.
Our masterplan will protect at least 48% of the existing green space within the site (compared with just 19% in the previous planning applications), as well as safeguarding existing Cornish hedges and rivers and wetland areas to provide a home for wildlife and nature at Langarth.
We have redesigned the NAR as a boulevard style avenue which will sit alongside attractive woodlands and hillside areas. Walkable green corridors, new cycleways and pedestrian walkways, nature trails and river and woodland walks will connect all parts of the development and improve access to the existing countryside.
As hedge openings along the route of the interim link road were made several years ago by the previous landowner no new hedge breaks are required. We will also be creating new Cornish hedgerows as well as planting 5 kilometres of trees and a new woodland area as part of Cornwall Council’s plans to create a Forest for Cornwall.
Some of these trees will be planted along the route of the new road as well as in other parts of the Garden Village – so watch this space for more details of our exciting plans to create our own tree nursery on the site.
Providing sustainable transport links
Providing good connectivity is vital to the success of new communities as well as for the businesses and the people who work there.
We know that encouraging people to use their car less will take time and are working hard to ensure that sustainable transport options will be available from as close to ‘day one’ as possible.
The start of work on the interim link road means we can take the next steps to providing these good connections by starting to deliver the Northern Access Road.
