Sherford new town

Helping create a town that works for all

What was the challenge

Sherford is a new town being developed on the edge of Plymouth, with 7,500 new homes, a new town centre and a freeport business district, over the next 10 years. It offers a unique opportunity to learn from past projects of this kind, to design of a new community and 21st century town that works for people, business, and the environment.    

Our approach

To realise the Sherford ambition there needed to be meaningful partnership between developers, local authorities and the residents. 

Our role in Sherford was to build on existing connections, bring together housing strategy with residents need, to create greater value for all partners, particularly the community.  A Section 106 agreement had made provision for community assets and the creation of a community land trust.  

From this platform we undertook to:  

  • Support the design of a campus of town centre buildings 
  • Introduced community ownership, through community engagement, organising and development activity 
  • Developed the Sherford Community Land Trust (SCLT) to lead the towns, economic, social and environmental development. 

So far…

  • Completion of a community-led medium term business plan for the CLT, as a requirement to trigger and secure the CLT’s pump-priming S106 endowment 
  • Working with a community panel to inform planning of shops and amenities, youth, community, heritage, and environmental activity, and events 
  • Completion of CLT governance review followed by operational development and capacity building of the CLT 
  • Strategic work with the combined councils Urban Fringe Team, to embed community ownership and social enterprise thinking into the planning design of the town centre and high street 
  • Stakeholder interviews with service providers and production of a design brief for a campus of community buildings, including a health and wellbeing centre and more cultural and enterprise focussed “town hall”. 

Work continues into 2024, we look forward to seeing you in Sherford soon!  

Find out more about the CLT https://www.sherfordtrust.org.uk/