Our proposals for the Northern Local Centre, Augusta Park
The Northern Local Centre at Augusta Park (formerly ‘East Anton’) is divided into two sites (Sites A and B), and separate proposals are currently being progressed for each of these sites. Our proposals for both sites are detailed below.
Site A – Retail and commercial space
Site A has been identified for a convenience store plus retail/office space with residential accommodation, as well as a recycling centre, in accordance with the Test Valley policy and its guidance for Augusta Park.
A public consultation event was held at the temporary Community Centre during June 2013 to give local people the chance to find out more about the proposals for this site and have their say on the plans.
Following this, a planning application was submitted to Test Valley Borough Council for the designs illustrated below (application 14/01309/FULLN). This application was refused by the council and an appeal has been lodged against this refusal.
In tandem with this appeal, the developer (Daytona East Anton Ltd) is considering submitting another application which seeks to address the main reason for refusing the initial application, which was the architectural design of the building.
Test Valley Borough Council has indicated that it supports in principle the revised building design, as shown in the illustrations below. Whichever design is finally approved, Daytona is committed to delivering the local centre as soon as possible to ensure the community gets the shops, employment opportunities and local recycling facility that the Council has planned for.
Proposed layout
Front elevation
Rear elevation
Site B – Care facility
Site B has been identified for the provision of a care facility, comprising 10 residential beds for adults with mild mental health difficulties and/or learning disabilities.
The facility will be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by 24 to 27 full-time equivalent members of staff working over three shifts. Typically this will mean about eight to nine members of staff working during the day and three to four at night.
About 70-80% of the staff are expected to come from the local area and will commute via public transport, cycle or car share. Residents of the facility will be from the local area and their care will be funded by the local authority.
The facility will only accept people who have been risk-assessed as suitable to fit into a mixed residential community and do not pose an anti-social behaviour risk. Although it will not be a secure facility, access will be monitored by staff who will also accompany residents wishing to leave the site, for example to go for a walk in the local area.
The care home will also seek to work with local colleges to provide further education opportunities for residents. The facility will not generate excessive noise and will aim to integrate well with the surrounding community.
Initial proposals for this care facility were presented to the local community during a public consultation event at East Anton’s Temporary Community Building on 4th November 2014.
Final plans are now being prepared and a planning application was submitted to Test Valley Borough Council in December 2014, based on the illustrations shown below.
Should planning permission be granted, the operators of the home will invite local residents to visit the facility and meet the staff once the building has been completed.
Lisa loves her brand new home at The Chariots
Lisa in her new home at The Chariots
“A friend told me to go and have a look at The Chariots at Augusta Park and as soon as I saw the ‘Anton’ I knew it was everything I wanted, and better still, I could afford it – it was really a no-brainer!
“I wanted a property that was easy to look after, something with no garden but I still wanted a property with my own front door and a driveway to park my car, which is exactly what the ‘Anton’ offered.
I thought a new-build would be too small for me and that it wouldn’t tick the boxes on my wish list, but the ‘Anton’ has two good-sized bedrooms, a decent living room and a lovely bathroom too!“I also liked the way there are lots of different housetypes with different finishes at the development – it’s much nicer than seeing lots of properties that all look the same.
“I didn’t think I would be able to afford a new-build home, but the ‘Anton’ was available with the low cost homes scheme, which meant I could buy the property with 20% off the price.
“The location of the development is perfect for me, it’s within walking distance of the town centre and
it only takes me 10 minutes to get to work which is brilliant.
“All of the staff at Taylor Wimpey have made buying a house – which can be quite a stressful process – a much smoother experience. They could not have been more helpful and were always willing to answer my questions.”
Lisa Bateman, resident at The Chariots at Augusta Park.
Children at Roman Way Primary School
Taylor Wimpey helps keep pupils safe on the walk to school
We donated 230 high-visibility vests to children at Roman Way Primary school in Andover to help keep them safe and visible on their walk to school during the dark winter months.
The donation has been made to encourage children and parents to make walking to school part of their daily routine, promoting a healthy lifestyle and minimising car journeys.
Headteacher Sarah Jones says: “We’d like to say a big thank you to Taylor Wimpey for this kind donation of high-visibility vests which will help the children to stay safe on their walk to school.”
Fiona Creed, Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey Southern Counties, says: “We are committed to supporting the communities in which we build our high-quality new homes and this donation is an excellent example of the way we can help schools and other local organisations.”
As well as providing the fluorescent vests for pupils, we’ve also pledged to make a contribution towards the signalisation of a pedestrian crossing near the school, to help improve road safety as traffic levels increase.
The funding is being provided as part of a planning agreement for our new homes at The Chariots and The Romans at Augusta Park and the work is due to be carried out by Hampshire County Council.
"The atmosphere at the development is great"
“From the moment we first walked into the Sales Information Centre at The Chariots, our experience of dealing with Taylor Wimpey has been fantastic. Both the sales team and the site staff have been absolutely wonderful and they really couldn’t have been more helpful if they’d tried.
“The whole process of purchasing with Taylor Wimpey has been a piece of cake from start to finish. People say that moving house is one of the most stressful things you can do but I can safely say it’s not been that way for us – in fact it has been a pleasure.
“We were actually thinking of buying another home at a development elsewhere when we received the call from Taylor Wimpey – and we’re glad the call came when it did because we were given an offer we couldn’t refuse.
“We chose the three-bedroom ‘Kirkstone’ property at The Chariots and it is just what we wanted. There’s not an inch of space that’s wasted, it’s got a nice modern kitchen/diner and it’s a really comfortable home to live in.
“It’s also really well insulated which means that it will be a lot cheaper to heat in the winter, and we got it for a really good price as well so we couldn’t have asked for more.
“After seven years of living in Newbury it feels a lot more relaxing where we are now and the air even seems clearer here in Andover. The atmosphere at the development is great and there’s a good mix of age groups, including plenty of people our own age.”
Clive Emerton, The Chariots resident
Planning Update:
Taylor Wimpey has started working on the next planning application for the provision of approximately 340 new family homes on the land at Parcels C, D and E at Andover. These parcels form part of the wider development at The Chariots; adjacent to Parcel B. We will update you with the progress of the planning application and will shortly be publishing a layout.
The new community centre has opened its doors!
Luke Shearer of Taylor Wimpey Southern Counties, councillor Phil North
and Taylor Wimpey West London’s Val Howard celebrate the opening of
the new community centre at Augusta Park
A brand new on-site community centre has officially opened its doors to the public.
Managed by Augusta Park Community Association (APCA), the new facility – which boasts two main halls, three meeting rooms and a kitchen – has so far proven a success since its launch with a number of local groups showing an interest in using the centre, including Adventure Pre-school, which has already agreed a lease with APCA for one hall and one meeting room.
Our Southern Counties business unit delivered the centre as part of the S106 agreement. APCA also secured funding from Hampshire County Council (HCC) to undertake modifications during the build to accommodate the pre-school.
APCA was formed in August 2012 by a group of local residents. The community association aspires to improve the lives of those who live at the development, by turning the housing estate into a community. A number of events have already taken place at Augusta Park and the new centre will open even more opportunities for APCA.
Fiona Creed, Regional Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey, says: “Since opening the new community centre at Augusta Park, there has been a lot of interest from local groups who are looking to use the building to host classes and meetings alike.
“We are over the moon with the response we’ve received because it really reflects what a great community we have forming at this development.”
Local schools, groups, clubs and residents are all invited to use the centre, whether it’s for meetings and conferences, exercise classes or parties. A number of slimming groups, baby and toddler groups and martial arts groups have already expressed an interest.
Pupils receive a lesson in housebuilding
Youngsters from Endeavour Primary School really enjoyed learning about how a 21st century home is built during their visit to Taylor Wimpey’s The Chariots development.
Youngsters from Endeavour Primary School in Andover received a unique lesson in construction when they stepped out of the classroom and on to the building site at The Chariots at Augusta Park.
We invited Year 1 pupils from the school to visit the site and experience a behind-the-scenes look at how a 21st century home is built, during a special guided tour with our Site Manager Graham Rutter.
Harriet Prentice, Year 1 teacher at Endeavour Primary School, says: “The children have been learning all about houses this half-term and we’ve looked at the various different materials used and methods of construction. We actually have a sister school in Uganda so the pupils have also been comparing the differences between their building and ours.
“We contacted Taylor Wimpey to see if we could arrange a visit to The Chariots because we wanted the children to learn more about the building of houses and we thought it would be beneficial for them to actually see the construction site. It was also useful for the pupils to learn about the health and safety side of things.
“We’d just like to say thank you very much to Taylor Wimpey for letting us visit the development – it fitted really well with what we have been learning in class.”
Fiona Creed, Regional Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey, says: “We were delighted to welcome the Year 1 pupils from Endeavour Primary School along to visit The
Chariots at Augusta Park!
“We hope both the children and staff found the tour beneficial and that it has broadened their knowledge about housebuilding.”