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The media and politicians have made clear that there’s a housing crisis in the UK. However, could the rise of the garden village help to tackle the issue faced by our overcrowded country? Guest Contributors, Arbor Deck, suppliers of plastic decking, looks at what the implications that these villages might have, but also what they might look like for new buyers.
What is a garden village?
A garden village can be described as a piece of brownfield land that can be used to create housing for new communities. They are usually smaller projects and will contain from 1,500 to 10,000 homes – they tend to have their own facilities such as schools for the children, shops for groceries and transport stations to commute in and out of the area. This type of village is perfect for families and first-time buyers looking to lead the picture-perfect life.
There is no definitive way you can describe a garden village because the community living there helps to create the rules and establish their own identity. They must be a settlement outside of an existing town or city and not be closely attached. The British government is supporting 17 locations around the country – £6 million will be funded to 14 new garden villages and £1.4 million to support three different garden towns.
Garden villages are set to be established in Cornwall, Hampshire, Runnymede and Surrey Heath, Devon, Essex, Oxfordshire, East Northants, Stratford-on-Avon, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Merseyside, Cheshire East, Lancaster and Cumbria. A garden town is similar to a garden village, only bigger. There are plans to build garden towns in Aylesbury, Taunton and Harlow and Gilston. The towns are said to provide an extra 200,000 homes.
What are the regional implications?
Currently garden towns and villages are set to supply over 50,000 homes to Britain. We will see a rise in manual work in these regions as a result of the large development project. This will boost the economy as it will provide people with more jobs in the area.
As people will be purchasing these new homes, the regions will become more populated. There is a popular misconception that this will put a strain on the resources of current residents nearby, such as school places for their children and obtaining doctor appointments. This will be avoided as garden villages are built with their own facilities such as schools and general practices. This will also create more jobs in the actual area of development. Garden villages are usually built with their own transport links to commute in and out of the area, although more traffic on the roads could be a problem.
What will these garden villages look like?
We know that there will be a lot of greenery around the new homes with garden villages being built on brownfield areas as it’s likely they’ll have garden spaces of their own. With everything looking brand new, there will be a need for new garden furniture – but what are the current trends?
One of the biggest trends currently is composite decking. With the weather at a constant change, composite decking is weather resistant and very low maintenance that allows you to leave the worry behind of ever needing to repair or repaint.
Another craze in our gardens that is getting people excited is the popularity of hot tubs – both to rent and buy. Over the past few years, it seems like more and more people are purchasing hot tubs for their garden. In North Wales, a businessman has had to double the size of his hot tub showroom this year to keep up with demand. These are a great addition to any garden, especially if you have a rural view of the surrounding countryside.
Sources:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/property/article-4087946/What-garden-village-welcome-one-nearby.html
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2517967/garden-villages-towns-what-where-why/
