Land

Hybrid agreement secured to promote and purchase a 300-acre golf course in Bedfordshire for a £500m new garden village

August 18, 2020

Terra Strategic, in partnership with housebuilder Hayfield, has entered into a hybrid agreement to promote and part-purchase the 307-acre Cainhoe Wood Golf Club in central Bedfordshire. The £500m new ‘Beaufort Park’ garden village proposed for this site could deliver 1,600 homes, extensive community facilities and infrastructure enhancements.

Located off Ampthill Road and the A507 in Beadlow, Central Bedfordshire – two miles from Shefford town centre – the site currently accommodates two 18-hole golf courses and club facilities. The plans propose to regenerate and redevelop the site, including retaining and enhancing an 18-hole championship course and creating new practice and training facilities, along with a new state-of-the-art clubhouse with a bar, restaurant and gym. Hotelier and hospitality group Firoka – the owners of the Golf Club – will retain and continue to run the newly enhanced facility.

The plans for the remaining proportion of Beaufort Park include delivering a new primary school, a neighbourhood centre with a GP Surgery, a range of restaurants, retail and food amenities, together with office and employment space. Of the 1,600 homes proposed, up to 400 will be delivered by luxury housebuilder Hayfield, 480 will be designated for affordable housing, there are plans for a 60-bed extra care facility, with the land for the remaining 660 plots to be promoted for sale on the open market.

James O’Shea, Managing Director of Terra Strategic said: “This is a once in a generation opportunity to create a stunning new garden village fit for the future within this highly desirable area of Central Bedfordshire. Since the easing of the Covid-19 lockdown, the demand for high quality housing here has rocketed, due to the enviable transport links and quality of life the area offers.

“With the Draft Local Plan for Central Bedfordshire currently under review, we are working with the Council and all stakeholders to promote this exciting opportunity for the local area. The plans for Beaufort Park reflect the Local Plan’s emphasis on delivering new infrastructure and maximising the benefits of development in order to create a highly sustainable new community. It would be beneficial to the whole region to see these £500m plans come to fruition.”

The Beaufort Park plans include the provision of new pedestrian and cycle infrastructure, which will connect with the existing pathways on both the northern and southern sides of the A507 and Ampthill Road. In addition, a footpath/bridleway to the south east of the site will be enhanced to provide an improved pedestrian linkage to the nearby village of Campton, reducing the walking distance to just over a mile. The creation of this new garden village will also enable the delivery of a dedicated bus service, which will connect Beaufort Park to other local centres, facilities and train stations.

Terra has estimated over £30m of Section 106 contributions would be provided for a mixed-use development of this scale, with the majority being designated for education and highways improvements. The intended 1,600 new homes could also deliver nearly £7m in New Homes bonus payments to the Council and approximately £1.8m per year in Council Tax receipts.

Terra Strategic is an experienced residential land specialist, which enters into agreements with landowners and then pursues, funds and secures an agreeable planning permission. It also has the financial resources to secure land with or without residential planning consent to assist landowners looking for a quick sale process.

Terra Strategic has a national reach, having secured additional residential land in Bedfordshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Warwickshire, The West Midlands, Wiltshire and Worcestershire.

For more information on Terra Strategic, visit: https://terrastrategic.co.uk/

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