11/03/2026
Planning new communities around people… instead of traffic models!
A proposed £5bn new town at Heyford Park in Oxfordshire submitted by Dorchester Living is making headlines this week, and it highlights something important; showing that UK developers can still think big when it comes to planning. ‘New towns' give us a rare opportunity to do something we often struggle with in the planning system, planning sustainable infrastructure properly from the start.
· not retrofitted
· not reactive
· more vision-led
Sadly, too much transport planning historically has followed a “predict and provide” approach:
· forecast traffic
· increase road capacity.
· repeat ad infinitum
But, in designing new sustainable communities, we started somewhere else entirely. What kind of place do we want to create?
At mode transport planning, we were proud to support the Heyford Park planning application that has been submitted to Cherwell District Council by preparing a detailed Vision-Led Transport Assessment, which means planning transport around:
• walkable neighbourhoods
• active travel
• public transport connectivity
• new rail opportunity
• lower car dependence
• integrated land use planning
• healthy, thriving places
In short, design the place, then decide and design how people move around it.
Heyford Park is already a remarkable regeneration story: transforming a former RAF airbase into a growing community. The next phase could become one of the UK’s most significant new settlements. And if we can get schemes like this right, by working closely with Oxfordshire County Council, we will be able to showcase how the UK should deliver the next generation of our new towns:
• visionary thinking.
• long-term planning.
• sustainable communities.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2171647/brand-new-5bn-uk-town-oxfordshire #
EXCLUSIVE: More than 1,200 homes have already been built in addition to a hotel, school, a Sainsbury's and other facilities.
