Ambitious plans for the wholesale transformation of Kingshurst Village Centre are set to hit another key milestone with the submission of an Outline Planning Application later today, 12 June.
As the final local centre set for regeneration in North Solihull, the Kingshurst plans aim to build on the success of previous schemes at Chelmund’s Cross and Smith’s Wood to transform the area by radically redesigning the village centre. The new centre will offer high standard modern housing along with a range of local services, amenities and healthcare provision.
The Outline Planning Application lays out the principles of the development and detail regarding access to the site at this stage, with detailed design coming later. The community will continue to be involved and have their say on these plans, playing a significant role in helping to finalise the details of layout, scale and appearance of the development.
Submitted alongside the application will be an illustrative layout. This is an impression of what the final scheme could look like and the capacity of the site for new residential, retail, community and healthcare uses.
The illustrative layout contains a number of key features including up to 86 new family homes (including affordable housing), an improved road layout linking the village centre to the surrounding area, as well as open green space and a wide footpath linking Kingshurst Park to the school. The plan also shows an anchor convenience shop along with six smaller retail units and health and community assets including a purpose built GP surgery, pharmacy, dentist and community spaces.
An earlier Concept Masterplan which has been used to form the basis of the Planning Application was shared with over 100 local residents and businesses at a series of drop-in sessions in February 2020. The valuable comments and feedback received have been used to help inform this latest stage of design.
Preparations for submitting the application have continued despite the difficult circumstances created by the Covid-19 pandemic. As well as working on the Planning Application the project team have also spent the last three months progressing efforts to secure external funding in line with current plans. A decision is expected on the latest bid for funding in the next couple of weeks.
Cllr Ian Courts, leader of Solihull Council said:
“Today marks another key milestone in this ambitious project. I know this has been a long time coming and there is still a lot of work to be done. However this brings us one step closer to getting spades in the ground and finally delivering on what is genuinely a once in a generation opportunity to transform this important village centre, creating a high quality, community focussed centre at the heart of Kingshurst.
“A huge amount of work has gone into preparing the application and getting us all to this point. It’s testament to the hard work of the council officers involved in this project that they have been able to keep the scheme on track despite some of the obvious working restrictions we have all been experiencing as a result of Covid-19.
“The Outline Planning Application is by no means the final blueprint for the site but it does clearly mark out the principles of the redevelopment. It also confirms the planned access to the site and is a vital next step in supporting the process to acquire all of the land we need to build the new centre.
“I’ve been really encouraged by the eagerness of local residents to get involved, share feedback and have their say. I hope they will continue to work with us and help shape the new Kingshurst into a village centre that we can all be proud of.”
The application, submitted today, will be subject to a 13 week determination period meaning that decisions are expected to be made in September.
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