Redrow 

Redrow was established in 1974, and is today one of the most successful and acclaimed national property developers. Redrow is passionate about the quality of homes it builds, the people who build them, the communities it creates and the society in which they reside.

Across Braintree, Redrow Eastern, the Essex-based division of the national housebuilder, is delivering a range of high-quality developments, and wants to continue building on its reputation for creating sustainable places and communities across the region. 

In its most recent reporting (2019 financial year), Redrow announced the completion of 6,443 new homes. Of these, 27 per cent were social rented homes, making a significant contribution to the need for affordable homes across the UK. In addition to £0.4m of charitable donations, £314m of funding to secure improvements for local communities was secured through Section 106 Agreements.

In November 2019, Redrow was awarded Large Developer of the Year at Property Week's RESI Awards. In the previous year, the Company was named Housebuilder of the Year at both the 2018 Building Awards and the What House? Awards 2018, and was named as a UK Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer for the fifth consecutive year in January 2018.

Planning History

On Tuesday 19th March 2019, members of Braintree District Council’s Planning Committee resolved to grant detailed planning permission for the development of 350 homes on land to the north of Western Road.

Outline planning permission, which established the principle of developing the site, was granted by the Planning Inspector following an appeal in March 2017. After acquiring the site in the spring of 2018, Redrow saw an opportunity to improve the original illustrative masterplan and immediately began a process of consultation with local residents and Council officers. The final proposals presented to members of the Council’s Planning Committee had evolved considerably since the first public consultation event in May 2018, and Redrow is grateful to all those who opted to take part in the process.

The permission allows for the creation of 350 new high-quality homes, helping to meet the District’s housing need. 40 per cent of the new homes will be affordable housing, comprising 70 per cent affordable rent and 30 per cent shared ownership. The bungalows and four-bedroom homes offered for affordable rent are considered particularly useful in meeting the identified housing need in the parish.

In addition to the creation of a new community, Redrow will be providing significant financial contributions for local facilities. These contributions, which total approximately £2.8 million, will be made available to the local authorities to fund education, health facilities and off-site open space. Moreover, the development will provide a site for an early years and childcare facility.

Redrow takes a “net-gain” approach to biodiversity across all its development sites. The development will retain and enhance features and habitats across the site, including existing hedgerows and trees. Whilst the Western Road hedgerow has been removed to facilitate safe access to the site, it is being replaced with 360-metres of high-quality, native, species-rich hedgerow and trees, along with a chestnut hurdle fence  to provide a linear feature for bats as part of the ecological mitigation. Along the eastern boundary, strategic planting will soften the development edge when viewed from the public footpaths to the east.

For a summary of the scheme’s key benefits, please visit Development Overview.