Yateley, Hampshire, UK   Draft Allocation Secured

Site Information

Our latest strategic land investment site is located adjacent to the urban boundary of Yateley, Hampshire, close to the Surrey border. On successful allocation of the site we anticipate annualised returns in excess of 27% over a 4 - 6 year period.

The site consists of agricultural land which is adjacent to existing residential development in Yateley. The site is strategically placed on the western edge of the town with direct access from the town's main distributor road. It is in a sustainable location, being well located to the town's main supermarkets, health care facilities, schools and employment areas, therefore making it a sustainable location for an urban extension.

Our Planning Department Comments

• Hart District Council is at an advanced stage of producing a Core Strategy which will replace most of the existing 2006 Local Plan policies. The Core Strategy sets out the spatial distribution of growth for the area for the next twenty years and seeks to distribute new housing growth across the district with all areas taking some share of the district's needs. In this plan period Yateley must deliver a minimum of 162 homes.
• The Core Strategy relies on a number of major sites to deliver houses and there is always the risk that such sites will not deliver homes quickly and in those circumstances there is the opportunity to promote this site as an early and deliverable release. The Core Strategy is due to be submitted to the Secretary of State in early Spring 2013 with adoption of the plan expected in summer 2013.
• The next review of the Core Strategy (2016-2017) will provide the opportunity to fully promote the site in the context of new growth figures. Historically there has been and continues to be an under supply of homes to demand in the south east. There is very good reason to believe that future housing allocations are likely to be at the same or greater levels than currently.
• The area around Yateley has a network of heathland sites designated for protection which constrain the future direction of growth around Yateley. The southern and eastern areas are constrained by this and to the north are extensive areas of wetlands. This site is situated to the west of Yateley and is therefore not subject to such constraints, making it suitable for future development.
• The site is currently identified as part of a strategic gap between the village of Eversley and Yateley but this policy designation is capable of being challenged and indeed a Planning Inspector has noted that the site is well related to shopping, schools and community facilities and well served by local buses.

Latest Planning Update

As expressed in previous updates, we continue to work with the local authority on a total release of the site for residential development, but the council have indicated an immediate need for a C2 care home facility which has been supported by Need Assessment confirming the need for a care home at this location. All issues surrounding alternative SANG sites being provided to mitigate against development on the site have been resolved with numerous sites being identified including sites directly adjacent to ours.

Given the councils position, we have elected to move forward immediately with a planning application for the care home facility and are working closely with a care home operator to this end. This application was submitted to the council earlier this year and response is expected in August / September 2022.

With the care home development approval, a precedent for development will have been set and will allow us to proceed with the mixed-use development for the balance of the site thereafter.