Environmental Sustainability

Environmental sustainability has played a key role in shaping the proposals for Elms Park so that the new homes and business premises will be efficient and low cost to run, with minimised environmental impacts.

The new homes will be built to the 2025 Future Homes Standards and will be zero-carbon ready which means no further modification of the homes will be required as the electricity grid becomes fully decarbonised.

No gas will be supplied to the site, with a combination of air source heat pumps and photovoltaic collectors being used throughout Elms Park to supply renewable energy and low carbon heating. New homes will have the ability to have battery storage incorporated, and every house will have an electric vehicle charging point, together with access to secure cycle parking.

More than 100 hectares would provide green open space for use by residents and nearby communities, and would also preserve natural habitats, including the majority of quality hedgerows and trees, encouraging biodiversity. The network of cycle ways and footpaths included in the plans for Elms Park provide safe, easily accessible routes to the rest of Cheltenham, as well as to the surrounding countryside.

As part of the planning behind Elms Park, a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been completed, and some reports have been updated since the submission of the outline planning application. The EIA will help minimise the impacts of the development on the surrounding environment.

The developers have been working with the Environment Agency and local authorities to understand the flood risks, and a surface water drainage strategy has been developed. There will be no building on the flood plain and surface water will be controlled, and managed on site, to ensure that there is no increased risk of flooding elsewhere.