RSS East Of England Plan - Broads Authority

104
Section 13 Sub-Areas and Key Centres for Development and Change
Stevenage
POLICY SV1: Stevenage Key Centre for Development and Change
The strategy is to deliver a new vision for Stevenage as a regional employment and housing growth point twinned
with transformational physical, social and economic regeneration of the original new town to create a selfcontained,
sustainable and balanced community.
The main elements of this strategy are:
(1) overall housing growth of 16,000 dwellings within and on the edge of the built-up area by 2021. Local
Development Documents should maximise opportunities for brownfield redevelopment within the town but
sustainable urban extensions will also be required to the west and north including at least 5,000 dwellings west
of Stevenage. The green belt review should establish defensible long term boundaries which allow scope for
continued growth of the Stevenage built up area until at least 2031;
(2) provision for strategic employment growth by improving the competitive position of Stevenage and capitalising
on its position between London and Cambridge. Measures to achieve this will include retaining and developing
existing advanced technology clusters, creating new high quality sites capable of attracting biotechnology and
R&D activities, remodelling the town’s more outworn employment areas to meet modern requirements,
encouraging new enterprise and promoting a regenerated, expanded and more vital town centre;
(3) raised expectations and opportunities and better provision for local residents in terms of health, training and
education, working aspirations and quality of life;
(4) improved strategic transport infrastructure including creating the conditions for significant increase in public
transport usage, walking and cycling within the town and improvements in capacity in key strategic corridors;
(5) substantial improvement to the image and quality of the town’s built fabric and public realm, including the
provision of multi-functional green space as an integral part of urban extensions; and
(6) additional waste water treatment capacity, planned and delivered with the water industry and its regulators.
The strategy for Stevenage should be delivered through a strong partnership approach, including the preparation of
joint or co-ordinated development plan documents by Stevenage and North Hertfordshire District Councils to
establish the planning framework for the green belt review and urban extensions. To facilitate a significant increase
in housing delivery as soon as possible, development to the west and north should be brought forward together,
rather than sequentially.
13.75 Major growth at Stevenage will help address some of the town’s problems as well as making a substantial contribution
towards the region’s housing needs. This will require delivery mechanisms to address the range of physical, social and
economic issues facing the town in a holistic way, working across administrative boundaries. Consideration should be
given to whether existing partnerships need to be strengthened, possibly involving a new local delivery vehicle with a role,
functions and composition to be determined locally.
13.76 The main transport corridors are the A1(M), East Coast Mainline, A505 and A602. Policy T15 requires further study of
what improvements in capacity may be needed on these and possibly other routes, taking account of Local Development
Document level decisions on the scale of growth in different locations. Waste water infrastructure requirements will need
to be programmed into the water companies’ business plans informed by the relevant studies, see paragraph 10.8.