Policy information sourced from Runnymede Local Plan

SD9: Longcross Garden Village

The land shown in figure 2 in this Local Plan and on the Policies Map is allocated for the purpose of delivering a new garden village at Longcross. The areas in figure 2 shown cross-hatched in orange are not allocated for development. Consent for a site wide village masterplan will be permitted if it can demonstrate delivery of:

  • High-quality inclusive design, creating a distinct new Surrey garden village settlement with its own identity and character, which protects and enhances existing heritage assets and recognises and reflects its place within the Surrey vernacular. This will be achieved through:
    • Creating buildings, layouts and spaces of the highest quality which promote a sense of place, interact with one another, achieve inclusive and accessible design, are resilient and which weave green infrastructure into the fabric of the built environment. A masterplan will be expected to demonstrate how this will be achieved for each phase or character area of the village including custom/self-build plots, through design codes for layouts, streets and buildings including building heights and materials;
    • Creating routes throughout the village which are well connected to one another forming a network of attractive, accessible, legible and safe routes for all users and which maximise opportunities for natural surveillance and connections with green infrastructure;
    • Outlining and implementing a strategy for integrating public art into the village;
    • Maximise opportunities to reduce the use of natural resources through a fabric-first approach, potentially including passive solar design, passive cooling and implementing water efficiency measures in accordance with policies SD7 and SD8;
    • Delivering accessible and adaptable non-specialist housing in compliance with Policy SD7;
    • Protection and enhancement of heritage assets and their setting including the investigation, recording and safeguarding of known and/or potential finds of archaeological significance. The development shall explore opportunities to retain and reference the site’s historical links with the defence industry.
  • A minimum of 1,700 net additional dwellings and specialist accommodation which comprises a mix of housing tenures and types including:
    • Affordable housing delivered at 35% of net additional dwellings including starter homes and which should generally follow the percentage splits given in the table below:
    • At least 10 serviced plots for Travelling Show People in accordance with Policy SL22;
    • The provision of an extra-care facility comprising in the order of 60 units to assist in meeting the specialist accommodation requirements for those with care needs including for an ageing population;
    • Provision for housing to be delivered by SMEs and/or as serviced custom plots and/or self-build plots in accordance with Policy SL24.
Affordable Type/Tenure% Split1 bed2 bed3 bed
Affordable Rent60%0%65%35%
Social Rent10%20%65%15%
Affordable Home Ownership30% (of which at
least half for shared
ownership)		50%50%0%

The range of housing to be provided on the site could also include other types of provision not listed above, for example build to rent units, sheltered housing or care home provision where it is demonstrated that such accommodation would help meet identified local needs.

  • Up to 79,025sqm of gross employment floorspace together with up to 36,000sqm of Data Centre uses (including not less than 16,000 sqm (GEA) of B1 office employment floorspace) within Longcross Park Enterprise Zone, including a variety of provision from small start-up through to large headquarters style office provision, and for C1 hotel and conferencing facilities.
  • A range of local facilities and services which:
    • Provides the building and land for a 2FE primary school with preschool/early years settings;
    • Contributes financially towards the provision of secondary school infrastructure in the Borough;
    • Provides a sustainable mix of community facilities and leisure spaces which provide opportunities for public events to ensure a thriving village which promotes healthy living;
    • Provides local retail facilities, a public house and other local services
  • A range of sustainable transport choices which facilitate connections within the village and to other nearby settlements and which maximise opportunities for modal shift by optimising connectivity within the site by walking/cycling with improvements to the local road network to mitigate significant impacts. This will include:
    • Securing permanent upgrades to Longcross Station and working with partners and Network Rail; delivery of an increased stopping service on the Reading to Waterloo rail line;
    • Delivery of on and off site improvements to the local road network to mitigate significant impacts as set out (but not limited to) in the Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) and contribution towards or delivery of improvements to the A320 as set out in the final A320 Study;
    • Provide funding towards provision of permanent bus services for the village which link with Longcross Railway Station and neighbouring settlements including Woking, as the nearest major local service centre;
    • A network of safe and, as far as possible, segregated cycling and walking links which provide direct connectivity between different land uses within the garden village, and existing settlements (including local service centres) and with the existing routes beyond the village boundaries;
    • A strategy to provide electrical vehicle charging opportunities in accordance with guidance issued by Surrey County Council. All communal residential and non-residential parking spaces within the village are to be provided with passive charging infrastructure to support future delivery of active charging points, supported by ongoing monitoring of electric vehicles demand within the development which is to be secured through a site-wide Travel Plan and section 106 agreement.

In addition to the above, traffic generation targets will be negotiated with the developers, based upon an up-to-date transport assessment and any exceedances will be monitored and mitigated through measures outlined within a site-wide transport strategy and secured through section 106 agreement.

  • A suite of connected green and blue infrastructure improvements across the range of different typologies with protection and enhancement of the natural environment through:
    • Ensuring that at least 40% of the allocation is reserved for the delivery of Green Infrastructure, which shall comprise all areas of formal and informalpublic open space (including open space identified for SuDS and dedicated cycle ways), green roofs and on-site SANG;
    • Provision of sporting facilities and areas for informal play as well as equipped playing space;
    • Provision of land for food production for individuals and the community as a whole, including allotments;
    • Implementation of a comprehensive landscape strategy for the village which takes account of guidance set out in the Surrey Landscape Character Assessment and which seeks to integrate development into the wider environment;
    • Having regard to the existing ecological qualities of the site including protected features and the objectives and targets for BOA units TBH01 and THB02, and delivering opportunities for net gains in biodiversity through priority habitat restoration/creation and priority species recovery through a range of green infrastructure typologies;
    • A comprehensive village-wide SuDS scheme which ensures as far as possible all surface water run-off achieves greenfield run-off rates with clear and robust arrangements for future maintenance;
  • Connections to other physical infrastructure including to the telecommunication, electricity, gas, potable water and sewer networks or alternative on site treatment as well as super-fast broadband for all businesses, community facilities and households.
  • A phased approach to development demonstrating how each phase will contribute to and integrate with the design concepts of the village as a whole and be supported by the facilities & infrastructure necessary to ensure the village is a sustainable and thriving community. It will be expected that development is delivered at an appropriate pace, in particular with regard to necessary highways and utilities infrastructure requirements as identified in the Council’s most up to date evidence of infrastructure needs and in site specific assessments.
  • Proposals for the long-term ownership and stewardship of assets, including community buildings, transport and green infrastructure. Application proposals will need to set out, through a Community Participation Strategy, measures by which a community interest company, trust or similar body will be established and funded to deliver the successful stewardship of locally-led village community assets over the longer term.

Although not allocated in this Local Plan, any redevelopment proposals in the areas shown cross hatched in orange in figure 2 will not be permitted where they conflict with the design concepts of the village masterplan and/or would prejudice its implementation.

For more information please see the Local Plan