The Proposals

The Proposals

Our vision is to deliver a new connected and locally grown community, which has nature and carbon reduction woven into the fabric of the development, whilst delivering tangible benefits for new and existing residents of Thornbury. We are bringing forward an outline planning application, to determine the principle of the development. The proposals include:

350 carbon neutral homes, each with solar panels

A flexible community hub known as The Oldbury Barn, which we envision being operated by a local community group

Play areas, food growing spaces, and enhanced wildlife habitats

Potential for additional ground-mounted solar arrays to supply green energy to the homes and generate income to support the development and reinvest in the community

Potential for a café, healthcare and co-working space

Creation of an enhanced orchard and walking trails

40% affordable housing

Opportunity for early years provision, forest school and multi-use community hall

Over 50% of the site would be kept as open green space, to ensure nature really is at the forefront of the community

The site

The site is located north of Oldbury Lane, outside of Thornbury, and is well contained within the landscape. Hedgerows, woodlands and trees, combined with the topography of the landscape, provide natural screening to the site. We propose a further strategic landscape buffer to maintain the local rural character and ensure the existing woodland setting is retained. Nature will be woven into the fabric of the development, with the current plans leaning into the existing green space and enhancing the existing landscape to maximise the environmental benefits.

Site location plan(click image to enlarge)

Benefits

There are a wide range of benefits that will support the new community and existing residents alike. These include:

Potential for a community energy scheme, with revenue reinvested locally

A new Orchard Trail celebrating Thornbury’s heritage

Funding for local infrastructure improvements through community contributions

Community growing spaces for fruit and produce

A flexible community hub, with its use shaped by local input

Enhancements to local wildlife habitats

Community is essential to our plans, and we’ve put a people-focus at the heart of the development. To ensure that the community hub provides the services that residents want, we have undertaken an early insight work conducted with South Gloucestershire residents and are planning a comprehensive engagement programme including a workshop with community groups to understand local sentiment and allow locals to choose what they want a hub to provide. Connecting with nature is one of the key threads in our scheme so this will be reflected through the community hub plans.

This would be a flexible community space responding to Thornbury's needs, and one of the key areas where we are keen to get local inputs to shape the final design.

Some initial ideas are:

  • A Community Hall with accompanying kitchen to host events

  • Early years provision to facilitate growth for young people

  • A forest school to deepen children’s connection to nature and reap the benefits of engaging with nature

  • Farm shop stocking local produce and supporting local businesses

  • A café

It’s important that the hub offers a space for working, learning and socialising whilst fostering a community spirit.

Community hub - designed by the community, for the community

Community Insights

We’ve been engaging with the local community in South Gloucestershire to understand what residents value most in new developments. A clear message emerged that future schemes should be designed to respond to the climate and nature emergency. There was strong support for rooftop solar panels, a fabric-first approach, and on-site renewable energy generation. These priorities have been embedded in our proposals to ensure we give the community what they really want and need.

Orchard Walk

The proposals include a new ‘Orchard Walk’, building on Thornbury’s heritage and existing community efforts. By enhancing the site's existing orchards and planting new fruit trees along the water’s edge, the scheme will support biodiversity, local food growing, and climate resilience, while creating a space for the community to enjoy and connect with nature.

The New Orchard Walk (click image to enlarge)

Community energy scheme

Our vision is to make use of land beneath the existing pylons by introducing solar panels to generate clean, renewable energy. This could support a community energy scheme, helping to power local homes, reduce carbon impact and render the development zero-carbon, and reinvest back into the community.

Biodiversity and nature

The proposals are being carefully designed to deliver a biodiversity net gain, helping to support local nature and wildlife. Over half of the site will be reserved to become open green space, with features such as Blossom Trails and Wildflower Meadows creating vibrant new habitats. Watercourses will be enhanced with meadow grasslands, alongside the planting of native trees and shrubs to promote a thriving natural environment.

The need

South Gloucestershire Council is currently unable to demonstrate a five-year supply of housing land, which means there is a pressing need to deliver new homes across the area. As one of the district’s two market towns, Thornbury is considered a sustainable and suitable location to help meet this need and support planned growth.

Homes

Our homes will meet high sustainability standards, with aspirations for carbon neutrality and features like solar panels and community-scale renewable energy. By working with the natural landform, the development will create well-oriented homes with views of green space, supporting an accessible, nature-rich community.