Fordingbridge
Sensitive places, connected futures.
The fact that I have employed the services of tor&co under various guises, for around 40 years, clearly indicates the very high esteem with which I hold the company. As a house builder having to battle against the increasingly onerous requirements of the planning system, there is great value in having the support of a professional, interdisciplinary and successful company such as tor&co.
Guy Peirson-Hagger, Strategic Planning Manager, Pennyfarthing Homes
Pennyfarthing Homes
Hampshire
Architecture
Environmental Planning
Geographic information systems
Landscape Architecture
Planning
Strategic Communication
Urban Design
Acquired with a clear vision for Fordingbridge’s future, the opportunity was to enable carefully managed growth at the edge of the New Forest while respecting a highly sensitive landscape.
Three greenfield sites, shaped by floodplains and the National Park boundary, required a considered approach. tor&co led planning, EIA and design teams across a suite of hybrid applications, navigating complex hydrology and heritage constraints to secure consent for around 800 new homes across Whitsbury Green, Whitsbury Road and Burgate.
At Whitsbury Green, a refined masterplan and landscape strategy shaped a gentle transition between town and countryside, while innovative engineering solutions elsewhere addressed flood risk without compromising the setting.
Working with our client, we developed locally responsive housing typologies with a substantial proportion of affordable homes that integrate with Fordingbridge rather than form isolated centres. A programme of tailored community workshops informed the proposals and helped build local support.
The result is a major consent that delivers much-needed homes while safeguarding the character and ecology of a growing historic town on the edge of the New Forest.
