Church Commissioners for England gets green light for 1,000-home Lincoln development

The Church Commissioners for England has received planning permission for a mixed-use community in Bracebridge Heath, Lincoln, which will add more than a thousand new homes, new transport links and public spaces.

The housing will be 20% affordable, with a mix of bungalows and two and three-storey homes. Located three miles south of Lincoln, the 44-hectare masterplan will feature local community infrastructure for new and existing residents, a purpose-built residential care home, and a new employment area.

A ‘mobility hub’ is set to offer sustainable transport options for the area within a central location, including local bus services, electric vehicle charging points, park and bike services and delivery lockers, connecting the area’s key focal points. New footpath and cycle links will also improve accessibility to both Lincoln city centre and the countryside. The site also benefits from sitting adjacent to the recently completed Lincoln Eastern Bypass, which will receive a new cycle route connecting it to the development.

New amenities will be accompanied by new open spaces, including sports facilities and play areas for children. The Bracebridge Heath scheme will also feature a sustainable urban drainage system to deal with surface water, while landscaping zones have been designated at the edges of the site to reduce both visual and acoustic impact.

The development addresses the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan’s wider aims of increasing housing in the area by over 30,000 and creating new jobs, including through the site’s construction and through new opportunities in the employment area. It also aligns with the Archbishops’ Housing, Church and Community Commission’s vision for more affordable homes and stronger communities.

Planning permission for Bracebridge Heath follows The Church Commissioners for England’s recent submission of two large-scale, mixed-use planning applications at Barnham (1,250 new homes) and West Bersted (2,200 new homes) in West Sussex.

Matthew Naylor, strategic land principal manager at the Church Commissioners for England, said: “Our plans for Bracebridge Heath will create a vibrant new community in the Lincoln area, in line with the vision set out in the local plan for new high-quality places to live. Retirement housing will provide much-needed places for seniors to live, while a new mobility hub will give residents sustainable transport options that encourage connectivity both within Bracebridge Heath and across Lincoln.”