Skip to main content

Woodhall Employment Land

Project Details

  • Client
    Merton College & Brighton STM Developments Ltd
  • Location
    Worcestershire Parkway Strategic Growth Area, Worcestershire
  • Year
  • Services
    Landscape Architecture

Overview

Define Planning and Design provided landscape planning, design coordination and technical support for the Woodhall Employment site within the Worcestershire Parkway Strategic Growth Area. The project forms part of a wider strategic allocation, delivering employment development in close proximity to the Worcestershire Parkway rail interchange and junction 7 of the M5 motorway.

The scheme was brought forward through a parameter-based approach, enabling flexibility in layout and building form while establishing clear landscape, visual and environmental principles to guide future phases of development.
Our role
Define played a central role in shaping the planning and design strategy for the site, leading on the preparation of the Design & Access Statement and preparing a suite of other documents to support the application, including:
  • Parameter plans: Development of landscape-led parameter plans to define building zones, heights, landscape buffers and green infrastructure corridors, ensuring development capacity was balanced with landscape sensitivity.
  • Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA): Comprehensive assessment of landscape and visual effects, informing design decisions and mitigation strategies throughout the scheme.
  • Green infrastructure coordination: Integration of green infrastructure to optimise sustainable drainage, ecological connectivity and landscape structure, ensuring drainage and biodiversity objectives were embedded within the masterplanning framework.

A key focus of Define’s work was the careful management of views towards Crookbarrow Hill, a distinctive and sensitive landmark within the local landscape and a scheduled monument. Using detailed visual analysis and semi-verified visualisation modelling, we tested building locations, heights and landform proposals to ensure the protection of important views from sensitive receptors and to demonstrate that development could be successfully accommodated within the wider landscape context.
Image courtesy of Mimic
Image courtesy of Mimic
Image courtesy of Mimic
Image courtesy of Mimic
Image courtesy of Mimic
    Design approach and outcomes
    Through a landscape-led and evidence-based approach, Define has helped to demonstrate that employment development is capable of being delivered at the Woodhall site in a manner that respects local character, protects key landscape assets and enhances environmental performance. The use of visualisation tools proved instrumental in engaging stakeholders and providing confidence that views towards Crookbarrow Hill would be safeguarded through appropriate siting, landform and planting strategies.

    Project Team

    Peter Dunlop

    Let’s define your next project
    Curious about how we could work together? Our team of planners, designers and landscape architects are ready to help bring your vision to life.
    Contact Us
    +44 (0) 121 237 1901