One trend we are happy to see is the conversion of large obsolete car dependent out-of-town retail barns to new uses. Although the policy looks good on paper, we have identified some issues from a site visit to Renovo in West Thurrock.

First the good news

Once we got to the estate we found perfectly good housing, built at reasonably high density. There were no shops or amenities on the fairly large site, but there were some nice communal open spaces.

The design of the site did a reasonably good job of absorbing the amount of parking that would be needed at this location.

Poor access

However, getting there on foot from the nearby railway station was an odyssey. There was no way to the housing that did not involve either walking through shopping centre service roads or alongside major roads.

There was only one signalised crossing to access the site that we found difficult to find on the first attempt.

Built environment for the old use

Although within the development is a perfectly good housing estate, the built environment around it is optimised for cars. It is not a good place to be a pedestrian and would be lethal for cyclists.

Large roundabouts that once acted as feeders for car parks are now the main access to the housing, creating needlessly long walking routes. The surrounding roads generate car noise that there is no escape from anywhere in the estate.

Integration

As a result of the failure to redevelop the surrounding area at the same time as the houses, we find a community severed from even very close by services like the railway station.

The only safe walking route to the railway station involved walking through a service road or a multi-storey car park. There is a frequent bus route, which is the only option to avoid this other than driving.

In conclusion

Thurrock, the local council, should be recognised for having the vision to turn an oversupply of retail land into housing. They also have ambitions to create a proper town centre here. But in the meantime new residents are moving in to a place where on paper they have train station, bus routes, shops, restaurants and more amenities than you might hope for in a 15-minute city at hand. However, the surrounding built environment is so hostile that this estate is needlessly car dependent.

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