Four thousand homes could be built in a new garden village development on the site of the Prince William of Gloucester Barracks in Grantham.

Earlier this year South Kesteven District Council proposed hundreds of homes for the site which is being released by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) from next year to support Government housing targets.

The SKDC Local Plan 2011-2036, submitted for Government inspection in January, stated that 'indicative unit numbers' for the 184-hectare site was 500, anticipated to be delivered by 2036.

However, following a Government inspector's Matter's, Issues and Questions (MIQs) raised in March, SKDC has amended the policy wording to unveil extensive redevelopment plans for the site.

SKDC is now proposing a minimum of 3,500 to 4,000 homes, with approximately 1,775 of these anticipated to be built by 2036.

A 'Statement of Common Ground' document prepared jointly by SKDC and The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) - an operating arm of the MOD - also proposes eight hectares of employment-generating use, a new primary school, potentially a new secondary school, a 'community hub' with shops and 62 hectares of open space and woodland.

It also reveals plans for a 'Health and Care Campus' employing more than 1,000 staff.

The report states: "The site has been treated as a new settlement in its own right based on Garden Village principals.

"The masterplan seeks to deliver a community...in the form of a series of neighbourhoods focused around a central 'Community Hub' and 'Community Woodland'.

"These establish the principle and ethos of creating discreet neighbourhoods with their own unique and distinguishable identity within the wider community being created.

"Although individual in character, each has a cohesive design structure in that they are planned around a central 'Green' formed by retaining parcels of the existing immature woodland planting.

"Each 'Green' will include a Local Equipped Area of Play (LEAP) and its central location ensures it will be in walking distance for all residents.

"Each of the neighbourhoods is bordered by 'green corridors' which incorporate a network of walking and cycle routes and a series of shared community 'kitchen gardens'.

"Pedestrian and cycle connections to the village hub - comprising local neighbourhood shops to serve the everyday needs of residents - central woodland and peripheral employment areas are key to the overall design.

"There is also a community 'Woodland Walk' proposed that runs the perimeter of the site which would retain areas of the existing immature woodland planting (planted by the Woodland Trust).

"The vision is to create a forward-thinking, vibrant, high-quality settlement, with a strong sense of community and identity offering lasting value to the surrounding communities."

The document also states a 'Health and Care Campus' could be established employing in the region of 1,100 full and part time staff.

It says, in respect of the land earmarked for employment, Lincolnshire NHS Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP), through South West Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group, is in discussions with the DIO 'regarding a significant parcel of land'.

"Subject to the Grantham Southern Relief Road being in place the local NHS aspires to deliver a Health and Care Campus, bringing together existing local services onto one site.

"Providing integrated Health and Care services at scale and being able to provide accessible services to the local population of Grantham and the surrounding villages is a key tranche of the Lincolnshire STP plans and the NHS Long Term Plan.

"It will potentially transform the care offered and would support the drive to attract and retain doctors, nurses and other key NHS staff.

"This would be a quality designed campus, providing a new and modern healthcare service to Grantham and wider Lincolnshire at the same time meeting the GP and community needs of the planned housing growth," the document says.

Latest information indicates that the three-phase Grantham Southern Relief Road will not be completed for at least four-and-a-half years.

The Local Plan 2011-2036 amended policy wording in response to the MIQs states: "Planning permission will be granted for the creation of a new settlement based on garden village principals, with a minimum of 3,500-4,000 dwellings on the site of the Prince William of Gloucester Barracks.

"There may be scope to increase unit numbers beyond 4,000 dwellings subject to more detailed evidence and design work being undertaken."

It goes on to say the new community should be developed in accordance with 'a comprehensive masterplan' prepared for the whole site, which the council will be consulted on prior to the submission of a planning application.

Prince William of Gloucester Barracks, in Somerby Hill, forms part of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) commitment to provide land for 55,000 homes to contribute to the Government's housing targets.

The barracks site - opposite Spitalgate Heath where 3,700 homes are to be built as one of 14 Government-backed urban development areas planned across the country - has been identified for release under the MOD's Better Defence Estate Initiative.

The 'Statement of Common Ground' states that surplus areas of the Prince William of Gloucester Barracks site will be made available for development from 2020 - although the MOD recently announced it will begin a 'phased land disposal' in 2020 and units will remain in place to 2024.

The redevelopment of the site is anticipated to be completed in three stages, with development for infrastructure starting in 2021:

1. 200 to 500 homes delivered prior to the completion of the Grantham Southern Relief Road
2. 1,775 home delivered in the local plan period up to 2036
3. The remaining homes (of the 4,000 capacity) to be delivered in the next local plan period, post 2036

The Prince William of Gloucester Barracks site redevelopment proposal is subject to SKDC councillors adopting the Local Plan 2011-2036 and determination of planning application/s for the site. Photo: (c) Google2019