Agenda item

The Working Party received a presentation on some conceptual designs to support the housing development on the A1306, Beam Parkway.

The Working Party was provided with visuals of the landscaping designs for the scheme and the interfaces between the development sites and the Beam Parkway frontages.

The Working Party noted that the road layout was still in design, data collection was in progressing modelling we are currently undertaking.

The Working Party noted that the overall objective of the scheme was aimed at bringing the historic and existing key landscape features to act as gateways at either ends of the scheme and to replicate and introduce elements of these landscapes to create a varied park character along the length of the corridor.

The design had an introduction of swales and channels that would replicate the character of the area and the introduction of tall elements that would create a visual context that reminds of the historical past.

The presentation highlighted the size of the scheme, from Dovers Corner to the Borough boundary which covered over 1.8 kilometres of roadway.

The following area of interest and some typical types of intervention that could be delivered was outlined to the Working Party.

Beam Park

Due to the topography of the site, the road way sits higher than the existing development sites, a series of feature “mats” would be formed to create play areas whilst the surrounding lower areas would be designed to catch and utilise surface water into WSUD areas. It was also the intention to make features of and create access to the River Beam and introduce some tall elements to this part of the scheme.

Town Centre

To the west of the town centre and the Marsh Way Bridge, it was proposed to have landscaping treatments carried out to the banked sides of the approach to the bridge and the location of the new Beam Park station there would be an opportunity to create a new town square. Vertical elements such as trees and a clock will be visible and the “square” will have the potential for pop up markets to be held on some days.

Exotic Corridor.

Between the town centre and the Cherry Tree junction there would be opportunities to create wide areas of park land that do not currently exist. An exotic corridor of lush water tolerant vegetation would be planted into the swales and channels that would be the interfaces with new development. These channels and swales would make use of surface water and utilise WSUD and SUD type features. Where existing development sites were different to the existing road height stepped wall features would be adopted to address these level changes.

Dovers Corner

The wide frontage to the interface of the Persimmon site allows the landscaping scheme to draw in the existing features of the River Ingrebourne while the de-culverting of the river would permit views similar to the suggestions at Beam Park end and the use of tall features similar to the Coldharbour Point lighthouse which would be seen from all approaches to the corridor.

Members of the working party commended the proposed greenery to soften the new development in the area but sought clarification on how it would be maintained.

A Member of the party commented that officers had not returned with an improvement proposal for the A1306 corridor. In response the Working Party was informed that a data collection exercise was on going in order to determine traffic flow.

The Working Party noted the presentation.