This is a proposed new town to contain about five and a half thousand new houses and a full range of other uses near Plymouth in South Devon. The Masterplan was developed by The Prince’s Foundation (Masterplanner Paul Murrain) in conjunction with the relevant Local Authorities and other interested parties in an Enquiry by Design process. The plan for the town breaks radically with twentieth century precedent. Instead of segregating the different uses - housing, employment, retail, etc., they are (apart from polluting uses) intermingled. For example the shopping is distributed along the High Street, which also contains a Primary School, the Town Hall and the Health and Wellbeing Centre, and has offices and flats above it. And unlike many relatively recent developments with distributor roads and cul-de-sacs, all the buildings relate directly to a grid pattern of streets, so making it quick and easy to get between houses, schools, shops and workplaces on foot.
The shape of the Devon landscape, significant groups of trees and existing farm buildings are being carefully maintained, and a substantial part of the site is being kept in its existing natural state to act as parkland for the town.
ESHA’s role for Red Tree is to develop the first phase of the Masterplan into more detail, together with preparation of a dwelling pattern book.