Living
Parlington will be a great place to live, work and play, with beautiful homes in an inspirational setting; extensive community facilities; open green spaces and woodland; and opportunities for work and leisure activities that will benefit residents of the new community as well as those in neighbouring villages.
The multi–generational, inclusive community that we want to create at Parlington will include a diverse range of housing sizes and types, to buy or to rent, to meet the needs of single people and families, young and old, and those with special housing requirements. There will be a range of affordable housing as well as opportunities to self and custom-build.
The existing mature woodland will give the new community a sense of seclusion. New planting will enhance the natural feeling and sense of place.
Parlington will benefit from a range of community investments which will add social value and sustainability to the village, including a primary school, and a health hub providing access to a doctor and dentist.
A new village centre will include shops, a cafe, a pub, community space, and a business hub to complement and support homeworking, as well as studios and managed workspaces. A ‘community concierge’ will support sustainable forms of transport through cycle hire and repair facilities amongst other things.
Illustrative view to Home Farm
We will create walkable neighbourhoods in the village, encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle, stimulating a sense of well-being, and creating opportunities for social interaction.
Getting around
We will promote sustainable, integrated and accessible transport systems with walking, cycling and public transport designed and encouraged as the most attractive option within and to and from the village.
Rail services at Garforth and East Garforth can be accessed by walking and cycling along the upgraded Flyline route. Should a new station at Thorpe Park open that would be easily accessible. National Cycle Route 66 links the Estate to the eastern part of Leeds.
Protecting our environment
Parlington will be energy efficient and environmentally sensitive and will incorporate the latest technologies. The site is capable of linking to appropriate infrastructure for the provision of utilities such as gas, electricity, water, sewage and telecommunications.
There is ample scope to create attractive features to manage surface water drainage and potential flood risk including the opportunity to restore the former lake in Parlington Hollins.
Working
Parlington will enable residents to work, and access community facilities and shops all within a short walk from home.
Parlington will incorporate five hectares of employment space to accommodate a variety of businesses, which will include retail units. Existing buildings at Home Farm have the potential to be converted to shops, small-scale employment and workspace areas like a business hub, studios and workshops. Other larger employment units can be created elsewhere within the village footprint. Between 400 and 600 jobs will be created at Parlington.
This will provide a wide range of employment opportunities for residents of the new village as well as existing businesses and communities in the area and help to establish a village that has a vibrant and active day time economy. High-speed internet connections would enable more home-working.
Creating new employment space within the village will help to make it sustainable, by reducing the need to travel. Attractive, safe footpaths and cycle routes which will connect employment areas would encourage active travel, contributing to a sense of well-being and enjoyment on the way to work.
Illustrative local centre
Our vision is to create a place that encourages economic growth by offering new and existing business the opportunity to grow, to invest and to employ more people.
Learning
The village school is a focus point in any community, where children and parents forge lasting friendships. The school helps to create a sense of place and identity, and is central to the life of the village. Educational opportunities within the development at Parlington will be one of the key strengths of the community.
To begin with, Parlington would provide a one-form-entry primary school, but with capacity to extend the provision if required. The village would also offer nursery or early years provision.
There will be a reserved site for a secondary school to provide school places for older children, if future phases of development require it.
The school will primarily serve the new community at Parlington, but could help to alleviate pressure on nearby schools at capacity.
Safe walking and cycling routes through the village will promote active and healthy ways to get to school, and extensive outdoor playing fields can also meet community needs for outdoor sports facilities.
The woodland areas and the school and community gardens and orchard in the Stallion Pens will provide exceptional opportunities for outdoor learning and forest schools. This could be extended to other schools in the vicinity.
Leisure
Parlington will give residents the opportunity to access the countryside just by walking out of the front door.
There is currently limited public access within the Parlington Estate. The creation of a new village has the potential to develop further exceptional opportunities for a range of activities utilising parts of the large amount of woodland and green space of the Estate, as a whole opening now inaccessible parts of the Estate for wider public appreciation and enjoyment.
The existing footpaths, cycle routes or bridleways will be maintained and new routes created to connect with other nearby villages. This will give greater public access to the Estate for the benefit of all communities in the area.
There is an extensive network of private tracks in the woodland that could be opened up as new recreational routes. The former lake in Parlington Hollins could be restored for a variety of leisure uses. A 75-acre Country Park would be delivered in a later phase of development.
The village will enjoy a network of pathways and open green spaces, parks and gardens, allotments and orchards, together with children’s play spaces and sports pitches.
While there will be an emphasis on healthy and active lifestyles, there will also be things for rainy days and those not attracted to the outdoor life. This might include a cafe, pub, and community spaces suitable for holding a variety of events.