Opportunities for York Army Sites.

We know the forecast closure of Strensall and Imphal Barracks is bad news for York but we could use a German example and  turn it into a great opportunity. 

 Vauban outside Freiburg was a 40hectare military base until 1998. It’s now a thriving sustainable community with a population of 5000 in 2000 homes and recognised as a flagship for sustainable brownfield development.

Vaubans success is a result of the unique planning of the development. Exemplar public participation was encouraged with Freiburg City working closely with grass roots leaders.

A mixed group of interested citizens, future residents ,local businesses and planners lead the development of a master Plan called Forum Vauban. 

The key objective was to create a sustainable high density neighbourhood with a mix of housing, space for small businesses, public services, schools and recreational areas. A main principle was to promote alternatives to car use.  An intelligent range of deterrents and incentives has resulted in a car ownership ratio of 150 cars per 1000 people.

Vaubans housing mix has successfully responded to the needs of the community. A key reason was the model of housing development used. 

Volume developers were unwilling to invest in residential development that did not provide car parking and also set high environmental standards. Forum Vauban set up building cooperatives formed of  ‘architects, builders, residents and financiers’ with each being sold small plots of land on which to build housing consistent with the densities and minimum energy standards set out on the master plan. These cooperatives were successful and account for the majority of the residential and mixed use buildings developed in the district.

The Master plan set out to meet the needs of different segments of the local community. Much of the housing is mid-rise, mid-density with the ground floor in other uses. No single-family detached housing has been developed in the district and approximately 10% of the housing is socially rented  and a large proportion is aimed at students and single parent households.

Could there be scope for a   Forum Imphal   in York ??