SCHEME
Waverley
CLIENT
Harworth Estates (Waverley Prince) Ltd,
a subsidiary of UK Coal
LOCATION
Former Opencast Mine near Rotherham and Sheffield, South Yorkshire
PARTNERS
BNP Paribas Real Estate, DTZ, Jacobs Babtie, Turner & Townsend, White Young Green
BUDGET
Confidential
AREA
300 hectares
SCHEDULE
2006-ongoing
Waverley is a 230 hectare site that was the home to an opencast coal mine. When known as Orgreave it was the scene of a major confrontation, the Battle of Orgreave, during the 1984 Miners' Strike which saw clashes between the National Union of Mineworkers members, led by Arthur Scargill, and the police. The last coal was mined in 2005 but today the potential of the site to provide employment, homes and to regenerate the area is being strongly pursued.
Waverley is in a strategic regeneration area and a key site in the South Yorkshire Growth Point Area. LDA Design was appointed to produce the masterplan for the site to address the need for homes and employment in the area while also taking account of the environmental, social and economic concerns. The need to deliver an exemplar sustainable development was one of the strongest facets of our brief.
The masterplan provides a flexible framework for a development that could deliver new primary schools; employment opportunities; 4000 energy efficient homes and two combined heat and power plants.
It will also provide green space and a large park with a new lake integrated into the infrastructure to offer an area rich in biodiversity for walking and other recreational activities, while also supplying some of the development's required water.
Plans are being developed to provide excellent public transport to local areas and the larger surrounding conurbations of Rotherham and Sheffield, including the provision of a transport hub at the heart of the site. Another aim of the masterplan is to link Waverley with the surrounding villages of Catcliffe, Treeton, Woodhouse and Handsworth. By offering a range of quality facilities for everyone in the area these settlements will be less isolated and once again reunited, with the Waverley site as a focus.
The masterplan for Waverley was submitted for planning permission in July 2008 and received consent from Rotherham Borough Council in January 2010. The Secretary of State is now deciding whether to consider the scheme further or confirm the council's decision. Work is expected to commence in 2012.
