Roman village find at Knightwood Chase in Fordingbridge forces changes for Cala Homes plan

THE discovery of remnants of a Roman village at a Forest development of nearly 200 homes has cost the developer £1 million.

Cala Homes now wants make changes to its agreed plans for the Fordingbridge site in order to meet this bill.

The 17-hectare Knightwood Chase site was approved in April for 198 new homes of between one and four bedrooms, with 42 of them designated ‘affordable’.

Cala has applied to New Forest District Council to vary the application because a routine archaeological survey of the site – originally quoted at £53,000 and taking a few weeks – has soared to over £1m as it uncovered evidence of a village occupied over 400 years from the Iron Age to the Roman period.

This is the same timescale as the 40-room Rockbourne Roman villa, with its museum a slingshot throw away.

Cala’s senior planning manager Alison Thompson told NFDC planners that the changes are needed because they cannot absorb the extra cost.

She said: “As the site was originally subject to a viability appraisal, clearly the development cannot absorb the level of cost increases associated with the archaeological works required.

“Equally, Cala were very conscious that they did not want to reopen the affordable housing offer or dilute the architectural quality of the development, both of which were fundamental considerations in the determination of the full planning application.”

The developer wants to keep the number of homes, but make changes to 32 plots, Some substituting larger homes with the same number of bedrooms, others increasing the number of bedrooms, and in some cases replacing open car barns with secure garages.

Ms Thompson said: “This approach is considered to achieve a balance between delivering additional revenues to offset increased archaeological costs without materially impacting or diluting the quality of the approved scheme or the originally applied planning balance.”

Explaining the impact of the historic discovery, she said: “RPS were appointed by Cala to undertake the archaeological investigations, which included trench work. The fee proposal associated with these works was £53,500 and would take a few weeks to complete.

“During these works the remains of a village was discovered, which we are advised had been continuously occupied for 400 years spanning the late Iron Age and Roman.

“The density of archaeological remains present across a relatively large area of the development site was significantly over what could have reasonably been expected following the investigations undertaken, including a geophysical survey.”

The development will bring 9.8 hectares of new public open space including play areas, new pedestrian and cycle routes and over six hectares of recreational greenspace.

Each property will include environmentally friendly features such as solar panels and electric vehicle charging points.

The cost of buying one of the new homes, due to become available from next year, has not yet been announced but prices for two to four-bedroom homes in Cala’s latest Winchester development range from £395,000 to £875,000.