Dunton Hills Garden Village in Essex

Dunton Hills Garden Village Map
Artistic Impression of Dunton Hills Garden Village
Artistic Impression of Dunton Hills Garden Village

5000 New Countryside Homes

Essex will be home to two garden villages: Gilston Park Estate and Dunton Hills. There will be 5000 new houses providing a range of accommodation from flats to large family homes, in an area approximately midway between Basildon and Brentwood.

There will be around 2500 new homes on the Brentwood side of the development, which will be the main Dunton Hills village. 2500 additional homes may be built in later stages of development. Dunton Hills will include new schools, health facilities and shops.

Where is Dunton Hill?

Dunton Hills is currently most famous for its 18 hole golf course which provides amazing views across south Essex.

Dunton Hills lies just to the south of the A127 between West Horndon and Langdon Hills. However, judging by the map in the Brentwood Local Development Plan, most of the development will be much closer to Brentwood. The new development will greatly expand the population in the area and bring in much needed infrastructure improvement.

According to the Dunton Hills Garden Suburb group, the current plans are as follows: “The first option considered was development of the greenfields around the village of West Horndon which could provide for more than 2,500 new homes. However, following consultation the Draft Local Plan now identifies a discrete new village south of the A127 with all of its own facilities, recreation provision and green spaces.”

Dunton Hills Garden Village Map

Dunton Hills Garden Village Map
Dunton Hills Garden Village Map – Source: PROVISIONAL
DRAFT LOCAL PLAN
Brentwood Local Development Plan
January 2016

Design In Keeping With the Local Area

The proposal documents highlights that the development will be designed to fit in well with the local countryside and existing properties:

“An important part of making high quality places is to ensure that new buildings are well designed. This means making buildings attractive in their own right, appropriate in their setting and fit for purpose. The Borough’s good quality and distinctive character needs to be reinforced by any new development proposal. It is also important that buildings are designed in an adaptable way to ensure flexibility in their potential use and function.”

The development will include new green infrastructure links, such as cycle paths, and maintain the “green wedges” that provide wildlife corridors and maintain the countryside within the Brentwood development area, and will make good use of a brownfield sites within the area.

Louise McKinlay, leader of Brentwood Borough Council.
She said: “Young people grow up and then simply can’t afford to continue to live here, so the expansion of the housing supply is to be welcomed very much for those people.

“This is excellent news all round, for the borough, residents, our children and all those living in Essex and beyond.

“We have been working on developing an entirely new community as part of our Local Development Plan for some time. We aim high with good reason, because we want to provide the best, and the Government has recognised that we can deliver something truly exceptional with the help of its financial investment.

“Together with our development partners, Commercial Estates Group, we can continue to scope details of the plan in the New Year for this hugely significant scheme.”

There is opposition to the plans, mostly because some of the housing will be built on green belt land that was thought to be protected from development.

3 Comments on “Dunton Hills Garden Village in Essex”

  1. Me and my partner would be highly interested in buying one of the properties of plan on the new Dunton garden village area . We could really like a 2 bed house. We are first time buyers and feel this would be a great opportunity to get on the housing ladder.

  2. Dear Marie, Sorry but they don’t build 2 bed houses in this kind of development. You will be able to get a three bed semi or terrace starting around £450,000 or a leasehold 2 bed flat at around £350,000. Another option would be to look on rightmove now for property in the vicinity. There is always plenty for sale including some new builds. There are also older houses which are often a little cheaper and have the advantage of being built with real bricks instead of a softwood timber frame structure.

  3. Brentwood Council:
    1) advise New Consultation to be held November – December 2018 for comments/objections.
    PLEASE NOTE ADVISED ANYONE WHO ENTERS CONSULTATION CAN BE HEARD BY THE PLANNING INSPECTORATE when Local Plan hearing held in 2019.
    2) describe DHGV as Fenland stating likely Flooding/Surface Water & Soil/Water contamination but does not state/advise how this will be prevented, though in reports say will provide Water features!
    Also ignores Major Gas Pipeline.

    PLEASE NOTE: DUNTON HILLS GARDEN VILLAGE (really a New Town) – Site Unsuitable!
    After nearly 4 years of asking Brentwood Council have now admitted that there has not been a Masterplan and are only looking at it now, together with infrastructure to get Planning Inspectore approval in 2019.
    Advised even when submitting their application for Grant from government, obtaining £528,000 in January 2017 it was just there latest thinking.
    Later in 2017 stated, ‘WILL BE RELYING ON BASILDON’S DISTRICT INFRASTRUCTURE.

    • CONSULTATIONS up to now have been a total waste of time, not meant to deliver but just Pull the Wool Over Everyone’s Eyes!
    Appears to make out Residents are listened to, but are actually totally ignored.

    One will have to wait what Brentwood Council will actually present!

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