Developers agree major joint venture on 2,500 homes Ashton Park site

The agreement between the two national housebuilders marks a significant step towards delivering thousands of new homes to the community.

Persimmon has been collaborating with Wiltshire Council to finalise outline planning permission for up to 2,500 homes off the West Ashton Road.

With this new partnership, half of the land has been acquired by Barratt Homes Bristol, marking a major milestone for the scheme.

The high-quality plans will now be jointly delivered by Persimmon and Barratt Homes Bristol and their respective sister companies, Charles Church, David Wilson Homes and Redrow Homes.

The masterplan for the Ashton Park development of 2,500 new homes in Trowbridge. (Image: Persimmon and Barratt Homes)

Seb Spiller, Persimmon Homes and Charles Church’s deputy managing director for Wessex, said: “Persimmon is delighted to have reached an agreement with Barratt Redrow to deliver up to 2,500 high-quality homes in Trowbridge, opening up the dream of homeownership to local families and meeting housing need in Wiltshire.

“Our plans at West Ashton are incredibly exciting with major strategic highway improvements, biodiversity enhancements, environmental features, public services investments, affordable housing, and a sense of place all central parts of the scheme.

“Large-scale projects like this not only serve to meet the goals of national and local governments, but they help in alleviating the housing crisis on both levels, generating wider benefits for the local community and economy.

“The merits of the scheme speak for themselves and we look forward to working closely with Wiltshire Council and Barratt Redrow to make this vision a reality to the benefit of local families and the community.”

Rob Hart, managing director at Barratt Homes Bristol, said: "We have been working and building homes in this region for many years.

"The plans are incredibly exciting and we are so delighted to be part of this venture and to have this opportunity to bring more homes to local communities in Trowbridge, along with initiatives like our key worker deposit scheme and shared ownership options that are proving so successful in helping buyers get on the housing ladder."

The huge Ashton Park development is a source of concern for environmentalists, who are concerned about the possibility of "urban sprawl" and the loss of the Green Belt open space.

The plans for the site were first submitted in 2018 and gained outline planning consent in 2021 and will include the long-discussed West Ashton/Yarnbrook relief road.

While full planning consents for the different phases of the development are required, the ambition for this 437-acre major urban extension is to see homes that are high-quality and energy efficient.

There will be a multi-million-pound investment for local community services in the area, which will include two primary schools, one secondary school, and two community centres.

The plans also include health, transport and recycling services, as well as 168 hectares of public open space including play areas, green spaces, sports pitches and community allotments.

The scheme will support biodiversity on the site through the retention of important habitat features, new planting and the installation of bird and bat boxes and sustainable drainage systems.

The development has been designed to support important bat species at the nearby Biss Wood and Green Lane Nature Park, and an ecology visitors centre will be built on the site.

Wiltshire's Local Plan already covers 2,185 new homes planned for Ashton Park, plus 248 Redrow homes at Elm Grove Farm, 132 on a site close to the White Horse Business Park, 180 at the Southwick Court Fields site bordering North Bradley and Trowbridge, and a further 615 at West Ashton Park.