Joint venture signed to deliver £1.2bn Manydown development

A public-private partnership has been created to drive the first £1.2 billion phase of the Manydown garden settlement.

The four-way joint venture has been signed to develop the first phase of the development which will eventually provide 10,000 homes. Contracts, signed on Wednesday, July 29, involve Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council (B&DBC), Hampshire County Council, developer Urban&Civic and charitable foundation the Wellcome Trust.

Manydown Development Vehicle LLP will deliver 3,500 new homes, 40 per cent of them affordable, a 250-acre country park, two primary schools with land reserved for a potential new secondary school, two local centres, businesses, shops and community facilities, as a sustainable garden community.

Outline planning permission was granted on July 8 for the first phase of what is one of the largest residential-led development schemes in the south east, on 2,000 acres of land owned by Hampshire County Council.

B&DBC cabinet member for regeneration and property Cllr John Izett said: “We can now move forward to develop Manydown.

“With a formidable public-private partnership now in place, I am confident that all the comprehensive preparations, creative 21^st Century urban design and planning and attention to the views of our residents will be put to excellent effect in realising a new community and urban extension for Basingstoke.

“Our high ambition is to ensure that when Manydown is built it will be regarded as a standout development across the country in concept and execution, and, most importantly, cherished by those who make their homes and lives there.”

Urban&Civic chief executive Nigel Hugill said: “The Manydown development is the most significant proposed in Basingstoke since the 1970s.

“The challenges are clear and priorities have been reset. There is no longer a presumption that town can only meet country by means of a petrol engine. Equally, the fundamental underlying strengths of Basingstoke have not changed.

“Accessibility, connectivity and a forward-looking conviction will find new resonance in a digital age, located within the enduring magnificence of the surrounding countryside.

“I applaud the determination of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, in conjunction with Hampshire County Council, to create a partnership capable of keeping hold of such bold ambition. Urban&Civic will relish taking charge of operational delivery.”

The partnership expects to start work onsite in late 2021.

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