100 Acres of Farmland for Development

In 2004, the Deputy Prime Minister at the time was concerned about the housing shortage in the South East of England.  He commissioned a study of the whole area.

This study would take many years and take into account, not only house needs but also environmental issues and sustainability, including transportation and additional employment.  This study is called the East of England Plan.  The study is still ongoing but specific areas have been highlighted.

In May this year the East of England plan was finally published. Of primary interest to the village are the targets set for housing expansion in this period. Epping Forest District is required to support a minimum of 3,500 additional houses in the region. In addition to the direct requirement, Harlow has been asked to support 16,000 additional dwellings, some of which are likely to be to the south and west of Harlow and would therefore come into our district.

The Leaders and officers of Epping, Harlow and East Herts councils are working together to develop a joint approach to this need. In conjunction with this, the council has issued a Call for Sites. This is a request for individuals and companies to identify potential sites f or residential development over the next 15 years.

One study has highlighted the development of parts of the M11 corridor from North London to Stansted and Cambridge.   Epping Forest District Council, as part of the East of England Plan, needs to build new houses by 2021. They need to look for land to build these houses on. The council have written to all substantial landowners in the district and asked them for their views as to whether their land is suitable for development.   The move will see the land re-designated so it can be sold to developers to try to meet ministers' house-building targets. Official documents warn that the process "will result in significant change" for local communities.

Central London is a maximum of 45 minutes by train, you can easily get to any of the London Attractions, West End Theatres and shops, London Eye, Houses of Parliament, River Thames, Buckingham Palace, and all the London Museums.

The local underground station is approximatly10 minutes walk away from our site & there are also planning on the site to locate a new station car park. This is to accommodate the estimated influx of commuters who will use the underground Station.

This railway line gives you access to London i.e. Liverpool Street in 34 minutes and you can gain access via changing stations in London to all the rail networks throughout the country.

Price of Land

The average price in this area per acre with planning is in excess of £2 million. A site such as this, with planning permission, would reach far more than this.

"The farmland market jumped forward, with the average price rising by 24 percent (the fastest pace in the surveys history) in the first half of 2008 and by 47 percent year on year. Arable land rose by 32 percent and pasture land rose by 16 percent."

-RICS 28 July 2008

House Prices

The average house price nationally is £178,364.00 in 2008. Theydon Bois is located in Essex on the edge of east of London and because it is in the country and so close to London, has good facilities such as the countryside and is near to Epping Forest, house prices are well in excess of the national average and local towns such as Epping, which is only 4 miles away.

Properties in this area generally average:

2 bedroom apartments         - £300k

3 bedroom bungalows          - £450 k

3 bedroom terraced houses            - £380 k

4 bedroom semi-detached houses             - £450 k

3 bedroom detached houses          - £600 k

Average

- £436 k

Motorway links and Roadway Access

The site can be accessed from London via the A11 and B172.

There are two motorways nearby these roads, the M11 & the M25.

Four years of planning, thousands of consultation responses later, plans for Stansted Airport beyond 2015 have been delivered to local authority, Uttlesford District Council.

In 2003, an initial 700-hectare site was envisaged but today planning permission is being sought for 442. Further improvements include: fewer buildings lost, less woodland lost, and fewer homes and people affected by noise.

In addition to these points, the Farm is perfectly situated to benefit from the re-generation that will be caused by the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The London Olympic Stadium will be the centerpiece of the 2012 Summer Olympics. The stadium will be located at Marshgate Lane in Stratford in the Lower Lea Valley and will have a capacity for the Games of approximately 80,000. Land preparation for the stadium began in mid- 2007, with the official construction start date on 22 May 2008, although piling works for the foundation unofficially began 4 weeks ahead of that date.

The Olympic Village itself will be a direct journey from the local tube station into the hustle and bustle of it. All this in fewer than 24 minutes approx.

After the games, the Village will become part of the overall Stratford City regeneration scheme, including a new regional shopping centre with additional leisure, office and residential areas. It will be transformed into up to 3,300 new homes, with a mix of affordable housing, and accommodation for sale and rent. New parks, open space, community facilities and transport links will support the communities that develop in the area after the Games.

The Farm site was granted planning permission for an 18 hole golf course, club house, car parking etc on 23 April 2002 under EPF/765/99 and 28 March 2002 under EPF/1283/99. More Recently Premiership football club West Ham United were allegedly eyeing up the controversial Parsonage Farm golf course land in Theydon Bois as a site for a new training facility.

As you can clearly see, this is a fantastic location for any investor. The infrastructure that already exists is highly impressive and the East of England plan, in addition to both the Stansted Airport extension and the Olympic re-generation, are only going to add to the allure of this impressive area.

The landowner assures me that there are no restricted covenants. There are two public rights of way but these can be altered to follow any roadways where ramblers can get to and from adjacent land sites.

The area covered is in excess of 100 acres and the planning use is covered under the heading of recreational use and has its own policy listing under RST16.