Click on a question below to view the answer: What is a Millennium Community village? What is the Community Consultative Group? What is the Design Week? Does Ketley/Telford need this development? What will happen to the playing fields and rose gardens? What will happen to the Parkside Centre? Will the whole site be built on? What consideration has been given to traffic? What consideration has been given to public and private transport? Will the site have its own railway station? How will the existing Ketley residents benefit from this development? How will the existing facilities cope with the increased number of residents? What thought has been given to environmentally friendly housing? What thought has been given to sustainability? Will the development provide a range of houses in different price and size categories? Will the development provide affordable housing? What consideration is being given to those existing residents most affected by the development? What consideration is being given to the elderly? What security measures are being considered? Is the site safe to develop? What is a Millennium Community village? The Millennium Communities Programme began in 1997 with the launch of the development competition for Greenwich Millennium Village. The programme will aim to deliver somewhere between 5,000 and 6,000 dwellings over the course of a seven to ten year period.  A range of different types of sites have been chosen to demonstrate that energy efficient, environmentally responsible development is achievable regardless of geographic location. The East Ketley site comprises 35 hectares of land to the north west of Telford town centre and was the fifth Millennium Community to be designated by the Deputy Prime Minister in July 2002. The development partnership for the Telford Millennium Community includes English Partnerships, the Borough of Telford & Wrekin and preferred development partner, Taylor Woodrow. One of the most important requirements for a Millennium Community is that it directly involves the local community and reflects what they wish to see ? from the types of houses to the facilities the site offers for both new and existing residents. This is an ongoing process and as well as capturing the general views of the wider community, there is also a group of individuals drawn from the community, known as the Community Consultative Group (CCG), who liaise directly with the development team. Back to top What is the Community Consultative Group? The Community Consultative Group (CCG) is an independent, resident-based group which was set up to represent the views of the wider community and act as a channel for information to and from the TMC partnership. They have been meeting regularly with members of the development team to gain an understanding of all the specialist issues concerning the site ? such as transport, ecology and housing design. This means that they can accurately represent the views of the wider community and answer any questions they may have. During Design Week, a special event designed to directly involve the wider community, the CCG will be using their specialist knowledge combined with feedback and comments from the wider community to work with the development team to help produce a final plan for the site which reflects what the people of Ketley and Telford wish to see. Back to top What is the Design Week? Tunning from 11-15 November within a marquee on the site of the proposed development adjacent to the Parkside Centre, Design Week is the most important part of the public consultation programme. During this week, there are opportunities for the whole of Ketley to get involved, have their say and directly influence the development and what shape it takes. Ranging from the numbers of houses to the facilities the site will offer, the local community will be able to have a direct input. With experts on hand to guide the community and help them to understand what possibilities and constraints the land offers, Design Week will result in the final plan for the site. Key dates for the public include: Tuesday 11 November, 6.30-8.30pm - community planning workshop where you will be able to take part in group discussions about your hopes and ideas for the site. Wednesday 12 November, 6pm onwards - feedback to the community on what?s taken place during the day. This will include discussions on areas including site access, constraints (how the existing land dictates what can be done on the site), schools and facilities on site and ecology. Thursday 13 November, 6pm onwards - feedback to the community on what?s taken place during the day. This will include discussions on areas including housing types, sustainability and the use of technology in the development. Friday 14 November, 6pm onwards - feedback to the community on what?s taken place during the day. This will include discussions focused around neighbourhood and feedback on the plasticene modelling session and video presentations.   Saturday 15 November, 10.00am-4.00pm - a special drop in event where you will be able to see the results of the work carried out during the week. On Wednesday 19th November the completed plans will be presented to the community. Back to top Does Ketley/Telford need this development? Telford/Ketley is a growing and expanding town and there is a need to provide new properties for those wishing to buy their first homes or relocate locally or move to the area. To ensure the development team and Community Consultative Group (CCG) are in the best possible position to understand the future housing needs of Telford and Ketley, a marketing report and housing study have been commissioned. This will guide the team and make sure the new development takes into consideration the short, medium and long term housing needs of Telford and Ketley. Historically, the plan to develop this site is not new ? in fact, it was first allocated in the Development Plan for housing in 1993.   However, as part of the announcement made by John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister, in July 2002, the site was chosen as a Millennium Community. This gives the people of Ketley and Telford an exciting opportunity to work with the experts and have a direct say in the decision making process. Back to top What will happen to the playing fields and rose gardens? The development partners respect the fact that the playing fields and rose gardens were left in trust to the community and the community will participate in any decisions to make any changes. No decisions have been made yet, but If changes are agreed it will be because they will improve the facilities and be to the advantage of the existing community and the new community. Back to top What will happen to the Parkside Centre? Nothing will happen to the Parkside Centre without the full participation of the community.  At the Design Week different locations and facilities will be considered.   If any changes are agreed it will be because a better, more appropriate and modern facility will be provided and the existing centre will not be demolished before a new one is completed. Back to top Will the whole site be built on? No. The development partners are required to respect many elements of the site. These range from plant species, hills and ponds, to wildlife such as newts, bats, badgers and lizards. In order to provide environmentally friendly homes, open green space and wildlife friendly areas will be vital. Back to top What consideration has been given to traffic? Traffic consultants Symonds are conducting a study to assess the likely impact that this development will have on the surroundings and will have to satisfy the requirements of the Planning Authority. Symonds is in discussion with the Community Consultative Group (CCG) and will also take an active part in the Design Week to ensure the most appropriate solutions are found. Back to top What consideration has been given to public and private transport? We are in discussions with a bus company to arrange a bus route through the site without reducing the service to the existing community.  A possible service to Telford?s areas of employment is being considered and the area will be designed to be pedestrian and cycle friendly. This is all part of our aim to reduce the use of private cars.   Back to top Will the site have its own railway station? The train operator has advised that the site is too close to Oakengates station and is not therefore feasible to provide another station.  However, better links to Oakengates are being considered. Back to top How will the existing Ketley residents benefit from this development? It is hoped that the new and existing communities will integrate and that the new development will help create a stronger sense of community for Ketley. In addition, the community facilities that will be built on the new site will be available to everyone in Ketley ? which could include a new community centre and new school. Back to top How will the existing facilities cope with the increased number of residents? We are in discussion with the education and health authorities to ensure that the new development will not place an unreasonable burden upon existing facilities.   Through these discussions, and in partnership with the Community Consultative Group (CCG) and the wider community, it will be decided what new facilities are required. A new community centre, retail facilities and education facilities will all be considered. The objective will be to only add those facilities that the community most needs and will best benefit from.   Back to top What thought has been given to environmentally friendly housing? Sustainability and environmental awareness is at the heart of the plans for the East Ketley site.  High standards for environmental performance have been set for all housing, this includes: ? Achieving an ?excellent? rating under the EcoHomes scheme (a nationally accepted tool for assessing the environmental performance of houses) ? Achieving a set of ?Millennium? targets for the houses, which include: ? A 20% reduction in energy and in water consumption ? A 50% reduction in the energy contained within building materials ? Reducing the generation of construction waste to 25 m3 per house ? Reducing the number of construction injuries by 50% Back to top What thought has been given to sustainability? In addition to the above targets, the proposals for East Ketley also recognise the importance of wider social and economic issues.  Examples of initiatives that consider these include: - Working to increase the proportion of products and services used in construction that are sourced locally - Working with contractors to provide training to enable people from the T&W area to gain employment at the development and to learn skills for the future - Initiating a community group to help manage the completed development and make decisions about management activities - Adopting the Considerate Contractors scheme in order to minimise the impact of construction activities on local residents or others who might be affected To identify the important sustainability considerations for the development, a series of reports are being prepared that set out 23 key objectives. The first of these appraisals has now been carried out and the findings will be presented during Design Week where the community will be able to comment.   Back to top Will the development provide a range of houses in different price and size categories? Yes. Research is being conducted to understand what size and priced homes are most in demand in Ketley and Telford. This research will then guide the development team and Community Consultative Group (CCG) in their final decision. At this stage, it is expected that there will be a range of 2-5 bedroom houses some semi-detached, some freestanding, 1 and 2 bedroom flats, some bungalows, some town houses and an assortment of affordable homes. Back to top Will the development provide affordable housing? Yes. There will be a mixture of affordable homes including shared ownership, key worker homes to affordable rented. Back to top What consideration is being given to those existing residents most affected by the development? The development team and the Community Consultative Group (CCG) are aware that those residents who surround the site and those who are within it will be most affected. We are paying particular attention to their comments and what they want to see from the development and have been in regular communication with them and their views will be considered throughout the Design Week. Back to top What consideration is being given to the elderly? The views of the older members of the community are represented at the Community Consultative Group (CCG) meetings and we have had contributions from members of the public. Their concerns about accessibility and quality of facilities will figure prominently as design consideration. Back to top What security measures are being considered? Security is considered key to all elements of design both in terms of public safety and security in the home.  Sgt Wigley Smith is a member of the Community Consultative Group (CCG) and is advising the team.  It is intended that security and ICT are integrated however possible. Back to top Is the site safe to develop? Yes. Extensive tests have been carried out to establish the levels of contamination. A fundamental re-engineering of the site will be undertaken to tackle the legacy of mining and land filling and engineering best practice will be applied to eliminate problems in the line with the latest environment standards. Back to top