Oadby and Wigston Borough Council’s Planning Committee has resolved to grant outline planning consent for up to 43 new dwellings at Wigston, Leicestershire. CSA provided urban design, landscape planning, ecology and arboriculture advice on the application on behalf of their client Gladman Developments. This collaboration of different disciplines at CSA ensured the key constraints and opportunities of the site were acknowledged and successfully addressed.
A large part of the site lies within an area at risk from fluvial flooding. As this area had to remain undeveloped, the opportunity to create a potential area for nature conservation for the local community was identified. CSA’s ecologists advised on new tree planting with woodland understorey to build the ecotones crucial to establishing new habitats, together with meandering recreational routes through new open areas of grassland representative of Leicestershire countryside species-rich meadows.
Another key constraint included the presence of a Veteran Tree and a historic hedgerow running through the heart of the site. Working together, the arborculturist and the masterplanner positioned the new dwellings to ensure the retention and protection of the Veteran Tree, whilst providing a key focal point to the new development and a mature and verdant setting for the new homes.