Although the site is situated on the edge of South Woodham Ferrers and is in close proximity to the railway station, it suffered from severance created by an adjacent main road. The site is also constrained by a number of utility corridors, including overhead power lines and gas and water mains. A new supermarket is also located at the centre of the site. The site is largely characterised by flat land; however, it rises steeply towards the north and north east, which disconnects its eastern most extremities.

Whilst not unusual for an edge of town site to have such constraints, it is rare to have so many. The challenge was, therefore, to embrace and enhance the opportunities presented by these constraints. This was done by incorporating the utility corridors into a network of green routes and connections across the sites, within which a number of activities could be accommodated including allotments, pedestrian and cycle links. The green corridors were complemented by further spaces for SuDs, playing pitches and a green connection along an existing brook.To address the physical and visual severance across the Burnham Road, we introduced new crossing points, the central one of which effectively helped extend the town’s main north-south axis from the railway station towards a new mixed-use centre at the heart of the site. This ensured that facilities here could be accessed by new and existing residents in the town. Visual connectivity was also achieved along this route, which helped to create a vista from the town through the site and up to a hillock and landmark tree in the distance.