Great Notley Garden Village
Encyclopedia
Great Notley Garden Village, or simply Great Notley is a suburb
an development, mostly by Countryside Properties
on the fringe of Braintree, Essex
in England
with an approximate population of 5,500. It became an independent civil parish
on 1 April 2000 as a result of The Great Notley Parish Council Order 2000.
composed of three distinct hamlets
linked via a spine road:
It is cited as an example of Countryside Properties's design philosophy of 'instant maturity' and 'instant community'.
Also within the overall 188 ha (464.6 acre) site is a business park
, 'Skyline120', and a 40 hectare country park
.
There are various small businesses operating in Great Notley, including a veterinary centre, public house, estate agents and a tanning salon. There is also a Tesco
supermarket located in the garden village, making it the third Tesco to be built within the Braintree district.
Despite such accolades, it has had its detractors, most notably Alain de Botton
who found the replication of 17th, 18th and 19th century styles of housing to be unadventurous, featuring the village extensively in the television series The Perfect Home
. de Botton's criticism of the mock historical styles was not accepted by Countryside Properties
' Chris Cook who deadened De Botton's 'abstruse aesthetic objections'.
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an development, mostly by Countryside Properties
Countryside Properties
Countryside Properties Ltd is a property development company based in the United Kingdom. It is active in urban regeneration and creation of sustainable communities. It also carries out Design and Build contracts for housing associations....
on the fringe of Braintree, Essex
Braintree, Essex
Braintree is a town of about 42,000 people and the principal settlement of the Braintree district of Essex in the East of England. It is northeast of Chelmsford and west of Colchester on the River Blackwater, A120 road and a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line.Braintree has grown contiguous...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
with an approximate population of 5,500. It became an independent civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
on 1 April 2000 as a result of The Great Notley Parish Council Order 2000.
Archeology
Excavations in Great Notley revealed the remains of Iron Age and Roman settlements with a series of enclosures overlaid with a Roman development on the site of the Skyline Business Park, where it is thought that there was a series of occupations on the site from the late Iron Age onwards, which included brewing, farming and the production of textiles.Design concept
Great Notley was designed a self-sustainable garden villageGarden city movement
The garden city movement is a method of urban planning that was initiated in 1898 by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the United Kingdom. Garden cities were intended to be planned, self-contained communities surrounded by "greenbelts" , containing proportionate areas of residences, industry and...
composed of three distinct hamlets
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
linked via a spine road:
- Notley Green hamlet, to the South
- Oaklands Manor hamlet, centred around a new manor houseManor houseA manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
- Panners Farm hamlet, to the North
It is cited as an example of Countryside Properties's design philosophy of 'instant maturity' and 'instant community'.
Also within the overall 188 ha (464.6 acre) site is a business park
Business park
A business park or office park is an area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. All of the work that goes on is commercial, not industrial or residential....
, 'Skyline120', and a 40 hectare country park
Country park
A country park is an area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment.-History:In the United Kingdom the term 'Country Park' has a special meaning. There are over 400 Country Parks in England alone . Most Country Parks were designated in the 1970s, under the...
.
Amenities
Due to the size of Great Notley, there is little in the way of indoor entertainment facilities. Outdoor entertainment includes various playgrounds and the aforementioned country park (known as the 'Discovery Centre'), which has recently undergone construction work to include an assault course, café and water features.There are various small businesses operating in Great Notley, including a veterinary centre, public house, estate agents and a tanning salon. There is also a Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
supermarket located in the garden village, making it the third Tesco to be built within the Braintree district.
Schools
There are two schools in Great Notley; White Court Primary School and Notley Green Primary School, which was opened in 1999. The main secondary school for the area is Notley High School, which is located in the neighbouring village of Black Notley.Awards
As a development it has won numerous awards for the sensitivity of the architecture, including the Braintree Environmental Heritage Award, Environmental Initiative Award for 'The Discovery Centre', Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Award, Best Kept Village in Essex as part of the 1998 National Village of the Year awards, and two gold What House? awards. It is now listed as a 'Best Practice' example by SEEDA for incorporating natural habitats in modern housing development.Despite such accolades, it has had its detractors, most notably Alain de Botton
Alain de Botton
Alain de Botton is a Swiss writer, television presenter, and entrepreneur, resident in the UK.His books and television programs discuss various contemporary subjects and themes in a philosophical style, emphasizing philosophy's relevance to everyday life. In August 2008, he was a founding member...
who found the replication of 17th, 18th and 19th century styles of housing to be unadventurous, featuring the village extensively in the television series The Perfect Home
The Perfect Home
The Perfect Home is a television series of three 42 minute episodes commissioned for Channel 4 based on the book The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton which first aired in 2006...
. de Botton's criticism of the mock historical styles was not accepted by Countryside Properties
Countryside Properties
Countryside Properties Ltd is a property development company based in the United Kingdom. It is active in urban regeneration and creation of sustainable communities. It also carries out Design and Build contracts for housing associations....
' Chris Cook who deadened De Botton's 'abstruse aesthetic objections'.