0:00:02 > 0:00:05So, we have a seedless raspberry jam and buttercream sponge cake.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08We could have had lemon or whole fruit -
0:00:08 > 0:00:11they have a vast array of cakes.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14So, yeah, this is the completion of the welcome.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18It's all part of a bigger picture of building a community,
0:00:18 > 0:00:22building an identity, and building a sense of belonging.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25But the house we're going to is opposite this pile of bricks.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29You know, they really are in the middle of a building site.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32- Hello! Hi!- How are you?- Very well, thank you very much. Hi.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35- Welcome to the estate.- Great, thank you very much.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38And enjoy that cake. It's been hand-baked and it is fresh.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40- Oh, right.- When did you move in?
0:00:40 > 0:00:42Literally a week ago.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45What do you think of your view? LAUGHTER
0:00:45 > 0:00:48Well, I've got to say, it's probably at it's worse at the
0:00:48 > 0:00:51- moment, but it's going to improve. - Yeah, it won't be very long.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59New housing estates are appearing all over the country.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06For 30 or 40 years, we simply haven't built enough homes.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10As a result, prices have risen so much that the average home now costs
0:01:10 > 0:01:13almost eight times average earnings.
0:01:15 > 0:01:20The Government has said 300,000 homes need to be built each year to
0:01:20 > 0:01:22try and end the current housing crisis.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28In this series, I've been in the beautiful rural county of
0:01:28 > 0:01:31Oxfordshire, where house prices are spiralling,
0:01:31 > 0:01:33and new homes are in short supply.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39Last time, I saw how opposed people are to building on the countryside.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43But this time, I'm on the other side of the fence...
0:01:44 > 0:01:48..with the people moving into these huge new estates...
0:01:50 > 0:01:52- Hello.- Hello.- Hello!
0:01:54 > 0:01:59..and the architects and developers who create these new mini-utopias.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04We provide something that will work for the next 100, 200, 300 years.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09I want to find out - how do you build a community from scratch?
0:02:09 > 0:02:11- This is a nosy person's paradise. - LAUGHTER
0:02:11 > 0:02:13But like I said, I like to know what they're doing anyway,
0:02:13 > 0:02:15so it doesn't matter.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18There's no soul to the place, is there?
0:02:18 > 0:02:20It's just... It's just a roof over our head.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22And most importantly,
0:02:22 > 0:02:26are these new estates solving the housing crisis?
0:02:26 > 0:02:2720, 25 metres away,
0:02:27 > 0:02:31there'll be houses higher than ours, looking down into us.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Nobody has a right to a view.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37Things change, and we have to get used to that in Britain.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46TRUCK REVERSING ALARM
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Your experience starts as you come into the village.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56And then, as you come down the primary road,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59anything that's on a corner is really important.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01- Kind of frames your main road. - Exactly.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07We try to keep it quite open,
0:03:07 > 0:03:09because, actually, as you're driving along the road here,
0:03:09 > 0:03:13you will get glimpsed views through the trees, so that you can kind of
0:03:13 > 0:03:16feel the continuation of the landscape as you move through.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19What could be more exciting?
0:03:19 > 0:03:23A brand-new home on a brand-new housing estate.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29So, we're trying to introduce some
0:03:29 > 0:03:31slightly more contemporary house types.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33There isn't really a vernacular style in the village,
0:03:33 > 0:03:35there's not one character.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38So we've got the opportunity just to go free.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41- Yeah.- Go a bit rogue with it. - As always. - LAUGHTER
0:03:41 > 0:03:45Hannah Smart and her team of young urban designers are creating a small
0:03:45 > 0:03:48corner of utopia on the edge of an Oxfordshire village.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51I mean, the proposal, as I understand it,
0:03:51 > 0:03:53just includes houses, and then obviously the doctor's surgery.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57- Yeah.- How close are we to other facilities in the village?
0:03:57 > 0:04:00We're a little bit of a walk, so we want to try and improve as much
0:04:00 > 0:04:02connectivity as we can.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04That gateway is going to be so important, I think.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08She is not just designing the homes on this estate,
0:04:08 > 0:04:10she's creating a complete neighbourhood...
0:04:10 > 0:04:13This is about parkland.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15And then that - that's something special.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17This is going to be much more rural.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20..and one that must seamlessly coalesce into the
0:04:20 > 0:04:22centuries-old village.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25At the entrance of the gateway, have something special here.
0:04:25 > 0:04:26Perfect.
0:04:26 > 0:04:31So, conservation, kind of heritage.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35She even makes decisions about the way we might walk to the park and
0:04:35 > 0:04:37- go to the shops.- We've lined the road with tree-planting as well so
0:04:37 > 0:04:40that we can make sure that that kind of journey takes you towards
0:04:40 > 0:04:42the woodland, that's really important.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45I feel like I've just been... LAUGHTER
0:04:45 > 0:04:49I feel like I've just been watching Jackson Pollock at work. LAUGHTER
0:04:51 > 0:04:55It's quite a big job, isn't it, to make a new community out of nothing?
0:04:55 > 0:04:59- Yes, definitely.- When you get tasked with that, such as this, here,
0:04:59 > 0:05:01what's your sort of starting point?
0:05:01 > 0:05:05So, what we're trying to do is set out the big ideas for sites.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07So we're looking at - where are the
0:05:07 > 0:05:10big, strategic green spaces, and where do we want them to be?
0:05:10 > 0:05:12How does it interact with the landscape?
0:05:12 > 0:05:15It's really kind of trying to pull all the pieces of the puzzle
0:05:15 > 0:05:18together, to get something that feels like it fits
0:05:18 > 0:05:22within the context. We obviously have to take into account how the
0:05:22 > 0:05:24existing community feels.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28Some developers will just land something from space and not think
0:05:28 > 0:05:32about how it fits and what's it going to look like in 100 years, and
0:05:32 > 0:05:35actually that's really important to us, as a team,
0:05:35 > 0:05:37that we provide something that will
0:05:37 > 0:05:40work for the next 100, 200, 300 years.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42- And design as if we could live there.- Yeah.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Exactly. If you're not happy to live there yourself, then you shouldn't
0:05:45 > 0:05:46really be designing it, I think.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49- That's really important.- So you'd happily live there, would you?
0:05:49 > 0:05:51Of course, yeah. Without a doubt, yeah.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54- I think the whole team...- Which house would you have on the plot? LAUGHTER
0:05:54 > 0:05:57- We've picked already. - LAUGHTER
0:05:57 > 0:06:00Yeah, we're definitely...we're all living down the bottom here, around
0:06:00 > 0:06:02the green space, I think.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06- Shared house, isn't it? - I don't think so. - LAUGHTER
0:06:06 > 0:06:08You'd live in the garage.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10- Mmm.- Aww!
0:06:11 > 0:06:16Hannah's development of 170 houses is planned for the edge of the
0:06:16 > 0:06:17village of Long Hanborough.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21She's already won permission to build an estate to the south of the
0:06:21 > 0:06:25village, despite a bitterly-fought campaign by the residents.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29If this latest one to the north gets approved, both estates will unite to
0:06:29 > 0:06:33create a neighbourhood of nearly 400 new homes.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38But opposition in the village is still rife,
0:06:38 > 0:06:41and this new plan has a good chance of rejection.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55In the past, Britain used to be quite good at building houses.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00In the '50s, '60s and '70s, it wasn't just estates that were built,
0:07:00 > 0:07:02but whole new towns, too, like Milton Keynes.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04They're building a new city.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06A city as big as Cardiff.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10A city 50 miles north of London, starting from scratch,
0:07:10 > 0:07:12with a cost of £1,500 million.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17And many of these were government-funded.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21Recently, nearly all house-building
0:07:21 > 0:07:23has been funded by the private sector.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25But that might be about to change.
0:07:30 > 0:07:35Today, we set out an ambitious plan to tackle the housing challenge.
0:07:35 > 0:07:36Over the next five years,
0:07:36 > 0:07:42we will commit a total of at least £44 billion of capital funding,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45loans and guarantees to support our housing market.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50It's partly because of Oxfordshire's bucolic charm that house-building
0:07:50 > 0:07:53has met with such resistance over recent decades.
0:07:53 > 0:07:58We've agreed an ambitious housing deal with Oxfordshire to deliver
0:07:58 > 0:08:01100,000 homes by 2031.
0:08:04 > 0:08:09But now, in Oxfordshire, a frenzy of construction has taken grip...
0:08:11 > 0:08:13..and is changing the face of the landscape.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27I'm on my way to one of its newest large estates -
0:08:27 > 0:08:29Longford Park, near Banbury -
0:08:29 > 0:08:31where they are building just over 1,000 new homes.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37Most weeks here, a new house is completed and a new resident picks
0:08:37 > 0:08:40up the keys to their front door.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53- Yes, scaffolding's down, scaffolding's down!- Yes, it is.
0:08:53 > 0:08:58Jo and Freddie are about to go into their Taylor Wimpey home on Longford
0:08:58 > 0:09:00Park for the very first time.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Our window's open! Look, our window's open!
0:09:03 > 0:09:05Although it's not yet finished.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10- Which is yours?- The one with the window open at the top.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13The red bricked one at the right-hand side?
0:09:13 > 0:09:16We've never seen it without scaffolding before.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19So now that looks totally different.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22To me, it just looks like a finished house,
0:09:22 > 0:09:24at least, obviously, externally.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28- This is the sort of the most real it's felt, I think, actually.- Yeah.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Hi!
0:09:30 > 0:09:34- Hope it's what you hoped for. - Thank you!
0:09:40 > 0:09:43It's taken about five months to build their house,
0:09:43 > 0:09:46but so far they've only been able to take photographs of it from the
0:09:46 > 0:09:48outside.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52I'm not allowed to go in with them, but I'm excited to find out if it
0:09:52 > 0:09:54matches their expectations,
0:09:54 > 0:09:56so I wait for them to come out.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02These two are still both in their 20s, and the only way they could
0:10:02 > 0:10:04afford to buy this £300,000 house is
0:10:04 > 0:10:07with the government's Help To Buy scheme.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14The Government lends first-time buyers money for a deposit,
0:10:14 > 0:10:16but it still owns part of the property.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23- How was it?- Yeah, it was amazing wasn't it?- It was so good. Yeah.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26It was even better than we expected, definitely.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28Yeah, just seeing it all and, yeah, just really exciting.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31Yeah, it's really good.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38So that's our kitchen.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44And then this is our lounge.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49And this is the master bedroom, which is absolutely enormous.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53Was that very exciting for you?
0:10:53 > 0:10:56- Yes.- Yeah, really exciting.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59- Very.- Cos you see everything that's going to be yours.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01What did you say when you walked in?
0:11:01 > 0:11:03Just that it's...I can't remember.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05I think...I think I just squealed.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08- Yeah.- I don't think I made... Don't think I actually said a word,
0:11:08 > 0:11:10- I just sort of went... - SHE SQUEALS
0:11:10 > 0:11:12- You said, "This is ours." That's what you said.- Yeah.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16You just start to picture things don't you, like tiles and
0:11:16 > 0:11:18everything that we've chosen,
0:11:18 > 0:11:21and next time we go, all of that will be in.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25- Yeah.- Like, knowing that this is ours is such a...
0:11:25 > 0:11:28It's an amazing feeling, but it's also just really odd, because we've
0:11:28 > 0:11:30never owned a house before, so...
0:11:30 > 0:11:33- Yeah, yeah.- Like, actually, no,
0:11:33 > 0:11:35we own these walls and this floor and this roof.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37It's really surreal.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39It's... Yeah, really exciting.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42- And, yeah, we just want to be in now. - HE LAUGHS
0:11:46 > 0:11:50I found this young couple's undiluted joy quite contagious,
0:11:50 > 0:11:54and it reminded me of when I bought my first home many years ago.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59I paid £44,000 for it.
0:12:05 > 0:12:10Lots of people who use the Help To Buy scheme buy new-build houses,
0:12:10 > 0:12:13so in a way, there's a bit of social engineering going on in these new
0:12:13 > 0:12:17estates. They're targeting the generation left adrift by the
0:12:17 > 0:12:22inflated housing market - young couples and young families.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24KNOCKING ON DOOR
0:12:25 > 0:12:29Hello! Say hello, Richard!
0:12:29 > 0:12:32- Hello.- Hello, Richard. It's raining.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35- Well, come in, then. Come in, quick. - Come on in, Richard.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37This is our house. Come in.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Round the corner from Freddie and Jo's place,
0:12:40 > 0:12:42I found Josette and Dean.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45- This is our kitchen.- Very nice, isn't it?- Yeah.- We're happy with it.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49These two teachers went for a new build so they could afford somewhere
0:12:49 > 0:12:51big enough for their family.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55We weren't going to go for a new house, were we?
0:12:55 > 0:12:57We were going to go for an old house.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00But we had to change our mind cos we did that sort of Help To Buy scheme.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02But we we're really pleased we did it,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05because now this is a house we can grow into, can't we?
0:13:05 > 0:13:07We don't have to move...
0:13:07 > 0:13:10If we'd have bought another house, an older house,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13we'd have had to get a much smaller one and then move quite quickly as
0:13:13 > 0:13:15soon as we'd got another baby.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19So we've managed to stay here and get another baby, which is ideal.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26Whee!
0:13:26 > 0:13:29Would you say it's quite a young estate?
0:13:29 > 0:13:31- Yeah, I think so.- I think so. I'm considering myself as being
0:13:31 > 0:13:34young, I guess, when I say that, but...
0:13:34 > 0:13:38- maybe I'm not. - How old are you?- 21.- Yeah! - LAUGHTER
0:13:38 > 0:13:42- How old are you?- I'm 37.- 37.
0:13:42 > 0:13:4437, yeah. I guess I'm not that young any longer.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46- No.- Yeah.- But there's a lot of
0:13:46 > 0:13:49people with small children, isn't there?
0:13:49 > 0:13:53- Yeah, yeah. - Are you saying cheese?- Cheese! - LAUGHTER
0:13:53 > 0:13:57I was really against a new house, originally, but now that we've got
0:13:57 > 0:14:02it, I don't think I'd move into an old house, cos it's just so much
0:14:02 > 0:14:06- easier for us.- What is it you didn't like about new houses?
0:14:06 > 0:14:08- Lack of character.- Yeah, lack of character.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11And you are sandwiched between lots of people.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14Everybody's overlooking you. But it's not bad, actually.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18There isn't a lot of people overlooking us, and...
0:14:18 > 0:14:20Yes, the houses are quite close,
0:14:20 > 0:14:22but like I said, I like to know what they're doing anyway,
0:14:22 > 0:14:25- so it doesn't matter! - LAUGHTER
0:14:25 > 0:14:28Would you describe yourself as a nosy person?
0:14:28 > 0:14:31- Absolutely. This is a nosy person's paradise. - LAUGHTER
0:14:36 > 0:14:40I left Longford Park thinking how these two young couples are
0:14:40 > 0:14:43reinvigorating this part of rural Britain.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49Oxfordshire is full of villages,
0:14:49 > 0:14:53some of which are struggling to fill their primary schools or keep their
0:14:53 > 0:14:57shops open and pubs busy.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01They need an injection of youth to stave off the risk of extinction.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13I'm not sure if Long Hanborough is quite at the point of extinction,
0:15:13 > 0:15:15but Hannah and her team believe
0:15:15 > 0:15:17their new estate could bolster the old
0:15:17 > 0:15:20village with an injection of fresh blood.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22How does the woodland work?
0:15:22 > 0:15:25There is an art to bringing old and new communities together that comes
0:15:25 > 0:15:27through in her designs.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30So, the existing settlement edge currently runs there,
0:15:30 > 0:15:34and, to us, it was really important to make sure that we're designing
0:15:34 > 0:15:39in character with the edge. So that you're creating kind of
0:15:39 > 0:15:41bands of development.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43And in the centre of the onion, in the core,
0:15:43 > 0:15:47you've got the heritage, but as you're moving in this direction,
0:15:47 > 0:15:49your development becomes more contemporary, with your most
0:15:49 > 0:15:52contemporary development on this edge.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56So, if you, if we look at this diagram,
0:15:56 > 0:15:59the more traditional houses look like they're more in keeping with
0:15:59 > 0:16:03the character of the village. As you shift through the masterplan,
0:16:03 > 0:16:05gradually you become more contemporary,
0:16:05 > 0:16:10so the dwellings on this green edge here, the rural edge,
0:16:10 > 0:16:12have a lot more contemporary styling.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16Coming from a village myself, I've always grown up hating development,
0:16:16 > 0:16:18and I think that's probably why I do the job I do,
0:16:18 > 0:16:22that I want to make sure that the way that we do it is better.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29The villagers could derail Hannah's proposals
0:16:29 > 0:16:32when they're voted on in three months' time,
0:16:32 > 0:16:34so she's taken me down to the site where the development would be
0:16:34 > 0:16:37built, and where most of the objectors live,
0:16:37 > 0:16:41to show me how she's determined to make her houses blend in.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46When we first start looking at a site,
0:16:46 > 0:16:50what we do is we walk around and we take in, kind of, what's here.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53Cos I don't think you can design somewhere unless you really
0:16:53 > 0:16:56understand what it's like today.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02We're matching materials, so we've got some red roof tiles over there.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04That's something that we'll pick up on.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07And a bit further on we've got some slate,
0:17:07 > 0:17:10again that's a material that we're picking up on. Brick.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14This is the really important footpath
0:17:14 > 0:17:17that the locals like to walk their dogs down.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20So this is something really important for us to keep and make
0:17:20 > 0:17:22sure that we don't lose the character of it.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29There are houses over there, are there?
0:17:29 > 0:17:32Yeah, so the houses over here are the ones that will be facing onto
0:17:32 > 0:17:36the development, so we have to consider what their views will be.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39You know, what will they see when they look out of their windows?
0:17:41 > 0:17:44If we were to put houses right up against their boundaries,
0:17:44 > 0:17:46then we wouldn't really be being a friendly neighbour.
0:17:49 > 0:17:54Hannah seemed quite sympathetic to the concerns of the people down by
0:17:54 > 0:17:58the edge of the field, but she also had an uncompromising position.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03When you get used to a view, it's nice that it stays and that
0:18:03 > 0:18:06people don't build houses in the view.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10However, nobody has a right to a view, unfortunately,
0:18:10 > 0:18:14and many of these houses on this edge of the village are new anyway,
0:18:14 > 0:18:17so at one stage in time they were the new houses that have
0:18:17 > 0:18:21been built in front of somebody else's view. So I think, you know,
0:18:21 > 0:18:24things change, and we have to get used that in Britain,
0:18:24 > 0:18:28that some views, you know, are really important and we protect
0:18:28 > 0:18:31them, but we can't do that everywhere, otherwise people my age,
0:18:31 > 0:18:34young families, wouldn't have anywhere to live.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43The villagers may not want Hannah's new estate,
0:18:43 > 0:18:48but it's the property developers, perhaps, rather than the architects,
0:18:48 > 0:18:52who rank alongside parking inspectors and bankers as people
0:18:52 > 0:18:54we love to hate.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57This block on our left here, actually, is actually apartments.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59Although it looks like it's designed to be one building,
0:18:59 > 0:19:03- it's all apartments in there.- Is that social housing?- Yes.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08The developer Hannah's working for has a bit of history with the
0:19:08 > 0:19:10village of Long Hanborough.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14Pye Homes have built a number of houses here over the years.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21The MD of Pye Homes, Graham Flint,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24wants to show me round one of his showpiece properties.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27This is where everyone will gather. This is where the parties happen.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31This is going to be the hub of the house.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33This side of the island, you've got a breakfast bar.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39And then a double oven for cooking, obviously.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42So, this is the master bedroom.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46Graham lives in a Pye Home, rather like this one, actually.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50So, this is the formal dining room.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54This is probably when they'd get their Sunday best china out,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57and they'd want to entertain and impress while they're entertaining,
0:19:57 > 0:20:01but generally I would suggest that most people would be in the kitchen,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04around that table, in the bay by the rear garden.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11But there's no reason why this can't be a family room.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13There's no reason why this can't be a games room.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16It's got plenty of different uses.
0:20:16 > 0:20:17How much is this house worth now?
0:20:17 > 0:20:21This one's on the market at the moment at £895,000.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26And as you can see, is readily available for somebody to buy today.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33In his career, he's built thousands of houses,
0:20:33 > 0:20:35many of them quite affordable.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40But what unites them all is they've been opposed by the locals.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44Do you think there'll be much
0:20:44 > 0:20:48- objections to this Long Hanborough one?- Yes. Yes, I do.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50People just don't like change,
0:20:50 > 0:20:53and unfortunately we represent change.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55We've had an opportunity. We've...
0:20:55 > 0:20:59Where we've built before, we've had objectors objecting to a development
0:20:59 > 0:21:01where we've built before, and
0:21:01 > 0:21:04two of those objectors have ended up buying houses on our site.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06- Really?- I think it really is...
0:21:08 > 0:21:12If we could magically make a development appear overnight, there
0:21:12 > 0:21:17wouldn't be half the problem. People are just afraid of change.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27So who are the villagers objecting to Graham and Hannah's
0:21:27 > 0:21:28Long Hanborough estate?
0:21:31 > 0:21:36The fact that no-one has a right to a view is enshrined in law -
0:21:36 > 0:21:38a law that dates back to 1610.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43So whose view would Hannah be taking away?
0:21:51 > 0:21:56With a garden facing out onto a lovely field, I found Ken.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00- When did you move here?- Oh, we moved here in 1974,
0:22:00 > 0:22:04- when they were first built. - '74?- Yes, 1974, they were built by
0:22:04 > 0:22:09the developer who's going to be building behind us.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12- Really?- Yes.- Pye Homes? - Pye Homes - oh, yes.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20Presumably, you were taken with this view, were you?
0:22:20 > 0:22:24Yes, well, it was actually animal farming then, and as I say,
0:22:24 > 0:22:27the cows used to come down each day to be taken to the milking parlour.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30They used to stop and look at our dog.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33In those days, I saw a cow give birth in the field
0:22:33 > 0:22:36- to a calf.- What, just out here? - Yeah, just out here.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38Yep.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42Once the estate is built,
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Ken will no longer be looking at this countryside...
0:22:47 > 0:22:49..but rather into the bedroom of his new neighbour.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56And how close in proximity will they be?
0:22:56 > 0:23:00Well, we could be losing about five metres of our garden.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04You'll be able to wave at your neighbour.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08- Oh, wave at them? We'll be able to say good morning and goodnight. - HE LAUGHS
0:23:08 > 0:23:12More possibly they'll be able to say goodnight to us, as they'll be
0:23:12 > 0:23:14looking more into our bedroom than we are into theirs.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18And how does that make you feel?
0:23:18 > 0:23:20Well, it's...
0:23:20 > 0:23:22It's annoying that we don't seem to have had any consideration on
0:23:22 > 0:23:26that respect. I have put in the points about that, but they've got
0:23:26 > 0:23:30no positive response at all on the overlooking issue, and that is
0:23:30 > 0:23:32a valid planning objection,
0:23:32 > 0:23:34and there's been no positive response to it at all.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42Of course, all estates were new, once.
0:23:42 > 0:23:47I wonder if people protested against Ken's Pye Home back in the '70s,
0:23:47 > 0:23:50with their placards and their flared jeans.
0:24:03 > 0:24:08The post-war years of the '50s and '60s and '70s created a number of
0:24:08 > 0:24:10now infamous neighbourhoods.
0:24:12 > 0:24:17The New Town has not escaped that stigmatisation and decline of
0:24:17 > 0:24:18certain areas and streets.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21Streets come up in the world and come down.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25Some of the streets in this area are known to more fortunate residents as
0:24:25 > 0:24:27"Debtor's Retreat."
0:24:29 > 0:24:32In the 19th century,
0:24:32 > 0:24:35they built houses in long, straight terraced rows.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38They became the slums of the 20th century.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42This is the Netherfield estate, and I wonder if, in 50 or 100 years'
0:24:42 > 0:24:45time, a television reporter will be standing here, saying,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48"We must have better housing."
0:24:52 > 0:24:56But what is it about our modern estates today that will future-proof
0:24:56 > 0:24:58them from such a vision of dystopia?
0:25:04 > 0:25:05To find the answer to that,
0:25:05 > 0:25:09I've come to another vast Oxfordshire estate near Bicester.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28When immigrants first arrived in New York,
0:25:28 > 0:25:31they were greeted by the unforgettable sight
0:25:31 > 0:25:33of the Statue Of Liberty.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Instead, new settlers at Kingsmere
0:25:35 > 0:25:40are welcomed by the slightly less iconic image of the Brewers Fayre
0:25:40 > 0:25:42and the Premier Inn.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49When complete, it will have 2,500 houses,
0:25:49 > 0:25:51and a population of about 7,000.
0:25:53 > 0:25:58As we walk down here, that one's Polish, that one's Caribbean.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01That one there's Polish,
0:26:01 > 0:26:03and the other one the other side of him is Asian,
0:26:03 > 0:26:06the one on the other side of that one's Romanian.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09And then from here, we're talking Thailand,
0:26:09 > 0:26:13again from China, from Sierra Leone, and from Lebanon.
0:26:13 > 0:26:19We have a varied mix of nationalities on the estate.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26Kingsmere is not yet fully grown.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29It's kind of in its teenage years.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32And like a teenager, it's got blemishes
0:26:32 > 0:26:35and it doesn't quite know its place in the world yet.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42I actually could look out over all this
0:26:42 > 0:26:45and it was just full of poppy fields.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49All of this is built over. All of this, all of this.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52My house isn't even built, which is there.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54So, that's one of the first, is it?
0:26:54 > 0:26:57- Yes.- We were some of the first people to move in, weren't we?
0:26:59 > 0:27:01- Takes you back, doesn't it? - Absolutely.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06When Vicky and Graham moved into their new homes five years ago,
0:27:06 > 0:27:09they realised there was something wrong with the neighbourhood.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13There wasn't one.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16I mean, I wasn't intending to move. I just looked round my...
0:27:16 > 0:27:19The show house on a Sunday morning,
0:27:19 > 0:27:22because we were going to redecorate our house,
0:27:22 > 0:27:25and ended up buying a new house.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27- Like you do!- Like you do.
0:27:28 > 0:27:33So I've been banned from show houses now. I'm not allowed to go in.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38Because I just... I just love sparkly, new, beautiful houses,
0:27:38 > 0:27:40to be honest.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45The houses might be new and sparkly on the inside,
0:27:45 > 0:27:47but outside your front door,
0:27:47 > 0:27:50the half-built landscape is like an obstacle course.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56As founders of the Residents Association,
0:27:56 > 0:27:59it's down to Vicky and Graham to help people negotiate it.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01I've got a question about rubbish bins.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Obviously, as you said, we're growing as a community.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06But it doesn't seem to be a consistent approach,
0:28:06 > 0:28:09as in rubbish bins everywhere, so people can use them
0:28:09 > 0:28:12and the littering, I think it's getting a bit much at the moment.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15The construction dust flies around all over the place.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18And we don't have any nets protecting us
0:28:18 > 0:28:19from that construction dust.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21I mean, that's a bit dangerous, isn't it?
0:28:21 > 0:28:24Yeah, my concern is mainly that the drainage system -
0:28:24 > 0:28:27where it is going to go from the school to?
0:28:27 > 0:28:29You were asking about cameras, sir, weren't you?
0:28:31 > 0:28:33But beyond dog poo bins,
0:28:33 > 0:28:36the problems with parking, and the lack of a postbox,
0:28:36 > 0:28:39a quite serious matter has been overlooked.
0:28:44 > 0:28:49It affects the youngest members of Kingsmere's emerging community.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57A survey by the local church three years ago
0:28:57 > 0:29:01found that 35% of the population of Kingsmere was under five.
0:29:01 > 0:29:03Many of those are now at the primary school.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07This year, since September,
0:29:07 > 0:29:12we've had 31 new children have come into our school,
0:29:12 > 0:29:13and that's a classful.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17We want to be really sure that people who come to our school...
0:29:17 > 0:29:19- Are welcome. - Yeah. We do.
0:29:19 > 0:29:21We want to make sure that people feel welcome.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25I would say that just being kind and caring to them,
0:29:25 > 0:29:28because then they won't feel like they're alone all the time.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31They could feel nervous, but also excited as well.
0:29:31 > 0:29:35And sad, because they're leaving all their old friends
0:29:35 > 0:29:37and their old school behind.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41The problem is to get to and from the new estate,
0:29:41 > 0:29:44the children are having to take their lives into their own hands.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49Without the safety of a pedestrian crossing.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57What do you think about the road, Tyler?
0:29:57 > 0:30:00Well, we really need a crossing. Otherwise...
0:30:01 > 0:30:05..Middleton Stoney Road is going to become a danger road.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07Because there's no traffic lights,
0:30:07 > 0:30:10they can't just stop and they'll just keep on going.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14Sometimes, you have to run because the cars might come quicker.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17- Is it a bit scary at times? - A little bit.
0:30:22 > 0:30:24Vicky and Graham are launching a campaign,
0:30:24 > 0:30:28not only to get a postbox erected on the estate,
0:30:28 > 0:30:31but the much-needed pedestrian crossing installed
0:30:31 > 0:30:33for the start of the new term in September.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40Although I'm very, very hopeful for this crossing in September,
0:30:40 > 0:30:45there is part of me that thinks that probably won't happen.
0:30:45 > 0:30:46And that's extremely sad.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49Unfortunately, it's going to take a fatality,
0:30:49 > 0:30:51it's going to take a serious accident
0:30:51 > 0:30:53before something is done quickly.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59I got a sense there might be a lack of joined-up thinking
0:30:59 > 0:31:03from those various organisations who had devised Kingsmere,
0:31:03 > 0:31:05and its connection to the wider world.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10I think the whole development is very back to front.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14I think it was more sell the land and get as many houses as you can
0:31:14 > 0:31:19on the plots, rather than think about infrastructure.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22Which all eats into their profits a bit.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30At the end of the day, property developers
0:31:30 > 0:31:32make money out of selling houses.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34That's a prime motivation.
0:31:34 > 0:31:39But they need to get the balance right, or that beautiful thing,
0:31:39 > 0:31:42a blossoming community, may not happen.
0:31:47 > 0:31:51Hannah and her team of urban designers have been working on plans
0:31:51 > 0:31:54for a 170-house estate in Long Hanborough.
0:31:54 > 0:31:56But there has been a setback.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03After a meeting with the planning authority, changes need to be made.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09Hannah is allocating too many houses onto the site
0:32:09 > 0:32:11and not providing enough green spaces.
0:32:12 > 0:32:16Unless she changes it, the application could well be rejected.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23The recommendation for approval is vital.
0:32:23 > 0:32:24We need to get that.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27Are they suggesting if we make those relatively simple amendments,
0:32:27 > 0:32:30we will get recommendation for approval?
0:32:30 > 0:32:33We haven't got that far with them yet, unfortunately.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36She and her boss John must discuss this worrying news
0:32:36 > 0:32:39with Graham, the developer.
0:32:39 > 0:32:41Now, one of the concerns they have
0:32:41 > 0:32:44is the relationship of the development
0:32:44 > 0:32:47to the conservation area, and whether in fact in their view,
0:32:47 > 0:32:49we're having an adverse impact
0:32:49 > 0:32:52upon the character of the conservation area.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55There's one other thing, actually, that we've missed, and that was
0:32:55 > 0:32:58that obviously we've got the green space then up here,
0:32:58 > 0:33:00and then one down here, in the planner's eyes,
0:33:00 > 0:33:03and they would like a link between the two.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08So, we have now done a sketch layout...
0:33:10 > 0:33:12..which removes the dwellings at the top
0:33:12 > 0:33:15and removes the ones at the bottom,
0:33:15 > 0:33:18and then we've put in a primary road that's tree-lined.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20- That's a conversation we can have later.- I'm...
0:33:20 > 0:33:23I'm a little concerned on a couple of grounds.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27One, losing units here ultimately in terms of losing units.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30- Yeah.- So, we're losing 20 units.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33- Any chance of recovering any of those?- Possibly a few less.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36- We obviously need to look at that in terms of viability.- Yeah.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39- And make sure it works for the landowner.- Of course.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43- And make sure we can...we are maximising the land value.- Yeah.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48Graham is having to reduce the number of houses
0:33:48 > 0:33:50and increase the amount of green space.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53But in doing so, he has eaten into his profits
0:33:53 > 0:33:55and that of the landowner too.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00Part of the application, we have to engage with residents,
0:34:00 > 0:34:05with the Parish Council, and that generally involves one meeting,
0:34:05 > 0:34:08where everyone comes together with their pitchforks,
0:34:08 > 0:34:12and they come and involve themselves in what we're presenting.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16I was...threatened to be pushed over by, shall we say a mature lady,
0:34:16 > 0:34:19in the car park, one evening.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21Ten o'clock at night, she was going to push me over.
0:34:21 > 0:34:22Oh, blimey!
0:34:22 > 0:34:26And her husband was going to threaten to smash up my car.
0:34:26 > 0:34:31But that's the level of emotion some people get themselves into.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35We were promoting a scheme in a village
0:34:35 > 0:34:37and I had to go along to a planning committee...
0:34:39 > 0:34:41..with the police present.
0:34:41 > 0:34:45Because I had been physically threatened. My life was threatened.
0:34:46 > 0:34:49I had the police sat in the audience,
0:34:49 > 0:34:51so that there wasn't any trouble...
0:34:52 > 0:34:53..before the decision was taken.
0:34:53 > 0:34:55Well, it was something different, actually.
0:34:55 > 0:34:59It was a bit scary, yeah. It was a bit scary, if I'm honest.
0:34:59 > 0:35:00I can't understand why, though,
0:35:00 > 0:35:03because I'm such a nice...person, normally!
0:35:06 > 0:35:09It's not an emotion you expect to feel...
0:35:11 > 0:35:13..sympathy for a property developer.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19But as a direct consequence of building lots more houses,
0:35:19 > 0:35:22someone somewhere is going to have their nose put out of joint.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31I was returning to Longford Park, to meet with a young woman
0:35:31 > 0:35:34who thought she was moving into her dream home.
0:35:35 > 0:35:36Until she picked up the keys.
0:35:38 > 0:35:40They were there.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42And there.
0:35:42 > 0:35:43And there.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46Can you see them now?
0:35:47 > 0:35:50Yeah, there are scratches all here...
0:35:50 > 0:35:55Salila bought her £400,000 four-bed house a year ago
0:35:55 > 0:35:57after giving up her life in India
0:35:57 > 0:36:01to marry Shweta, who she met on a dating website.
0:36:02 > 0:36:04There are scratches everywhere.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08- What are they caused by?- Don't know.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15Her house has one of the best locations at the edge of the estate,
0:36:15 > 0:36:18with a window facing out onto open countryside.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20But there are problems.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25There are scratches all across the sink.
0:36:28 > 0:36:29Chips, like these.
0:36:31 > 0:36:33Right, yeah, I can see that.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36They call it snagging, but I would call it an incomplete house
0:36:36 > 0:36:39when we moved into the property.
0:36:39 > 0:36:40See? Things like these.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44It was definitely not like they showed us in the show home.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49Salila wants to have the house blessed with a traditional ceremony
0:36:49 > 0:36:53called a Puja, but she can't until the snagging list is addressed.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56How do you feel about coming over here to live?
0:36:57 > 0:36:59I was fine. I mean...
0:37:00 > 0:37:03We were like, OK, after a couple of years,
0:37:03 > 0:37:06maybe we'll go back home, because I'm quite attached to...
0:37:07 > 0:37:11..my family and I have a big family, relatives and stuff.
0:37:11 > 0:37:16I'm a people person, and look at me here. Just the two of us!
0:37:18 > 0:37:22In India, you know every other person down the lane.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24Here, it's totally different!
0:37:27 > 0:37:29It's fun there.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32You talk to everyone about everything.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38And there was a phase when I was quite lonely and I would say
0:37:38 > 0:37:41I was sort of depressed. I didn't want to speak with anyone
0:37:41 > 0:37:44because there was no-one around and I used to...
0:37:45 > 0:37:48There were these times when I used to literally break down
0:37:48 > 0:37:50and say, "I want to just go home!"
0:37:51 > 0:37:53I'm fine now.
0:37:53 > 0:37:54Yeah.
0:37:59 > 0:38:01I felt sorry for Salila.
0:38:01 > 0:38:06She had given up her homeland to arrive at this strange estate
0:38:06 > 0:38:08in the corner of a strange land.
0:38:16 > 0:38:20There's nothing here. It's just dull.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22It's just quiet!
0:38:25 > 0:38:28While walking around, I bumped into a young man
0:38:28 > 0:38:31who was also at a loss for something to do.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36I mean, the trouble is it all looks the same.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38It's... If you could diversify it a bit,
0:38:38 > 0:38:40and have this bit way different to that one
0:38:40 > 0:38:43and have some running themes, you know, have like...
0:38:43 > 0:38:44Everything's so square.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48I got lost round here when I first got here,
0:38:48 > 0:38:50because everything looks the same.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53And it's like, this is just the worst bit of it.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55No-one knows what it's going to be.
0:38:55 > 0:38:57It's just horrible.
0:38:57 > 0:38:58It's just a great big...
0:39:00 > 0:39:01..wasteland bit.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08Phil Christmas is a builder and moved here a year ago
0:39:08 > 0:39:12with his parents and sister to a three-bed Taylor Wimpey home.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16There's nothing. There's no focal point for a community here.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18So there's nothing here. It's just beds,
0:39:18 > 0:39:21and people that don't come out their houses, because why would you?
0:39:24 > 0:39:26It's all well and good building all these great big houses here
0:39:26 > 0:39:28and going, "Oh, it's affordable homes."
0:39:28 > 0:39:30They're not affordable. Not affordable for me.
0:39:30 > 0:39:33I want, like, one-bed flats, or like one and two-bed flats
0:39:33 > 0:39:36that I can maybe get with someone and then we can afford to do.
0:39:36 > 0:39:37I don't need a four-bed house.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40There's loads of four-bed houses up here. That's not affordable.
0:39:40 > 0:39:42That's not getting anyone onto the housing market.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48Oh, where are my keys?
0:39:50 > 0:39:54Phil is the perfect illustration of just how bad things have got.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59He represents the plight of thousands of young people
0:39:59 > 0:40:02who are forced to live at home with Mum and Dad.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06Do you feel at home here as a family?
0:40:07 > 0:40:10- It's just a box!- Not really.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13I thought it would be better than this, but...
0:40:13 > 0:40:16No, because you don't get neighbours, like you...
0:40:16 > 0:40:18You know, in a village, everybody speaks to you.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21I know people have got to come and go and go out to work
0:40:21 > 0:40:23but, you know, like Paul says.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25There's no soul to the place, is there?
0:40:25 > 0:40:28It's just a roof over our head. We should never have done it.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31- Yeah. Pretty much. - Feels to me like you haven't...
0:40:31 > 0:40:33You haven't actually psychologically moved in.
0:40:33 > 0:40:37- You haven't committed mentally to the place.- No.- No.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40I think that's an issue of just about everybody on this estate
0:40:40 > 0:40:43is that people, psychologically, haven't moved in.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46The trouble is, nowadays, with the way people work
0:40:46 > 0:40:47and the way people move,
0:40:47 > 0:40:50people don't live in houses for, like, ten or 15 years.
0:40:50 > 0:40:52They live in there for two or three years
0:40:52 > 0:40:54and get another job somewhere else and move on,
0:40:54 > 0:40:57so you've got this constant replenishment of people
0:40:57 > 0:41:00who then have to try and fit in to this non-existent community,
0:41:00 > 0:41:03and then they leave this non-existent community
0:41:03 > 0:41:04to go to somewhere else,
0:41:04 > 0:41:07so the place never really gets a chance to get a soul.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11How would you describe the culture of Longford Park Estate?
0:41:11 > 0:41:13- There isn't one. - There isn't one, yeah.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16There's no culture. Basically, it's...
0:41:16 > 0:41:19It's a dormitory into which people
0:41:19 > 0:41:23basically stream in and out of at rush hour.
0:41:23 > 0:41:25It's as simple as that.
0:41:25 > 0:41:30It's got no centre. It's got no sense of cohesiveness.
0:41:30 > 0:41:31It...isn't.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40I think Mr Christmas was being a bit down on Longford Park.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42But how awful to move somewhere
0:41:42 > 0:41:45and discover it was the wrong thing to have done?
0:41:48 > 0:41:53Longford Park felt like a place waiting to be possessed by a spirit.
0:41:53 > 0:41:55Community spirit.
0:41:59 > 0:42:01I think one of their concerns was they don't want the perception
0:42:01 > 0:42:05that the development is going to expand into this space,
0:42:05 > 0:42:09so they'd like us to increase this green.
0:42:10 > 0:42:12So that this bit here feels like a country park.
0:42:14 > 0:42:16Hannah and her team are going through final changes
0:42:16 > 0:42:20to the designs for the new Long Hanborough development.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23And Pye obviously understanding that these changes
0:42:23 > 0:42:27- will result in fewer units overall. - Yes. So, we may lose a few numbers.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32So, we'd be losing...six from there.
0:42:32 > 0:42:34It's their last chance to make amendments
0:42:34 > 0:42:37before the vote in a week's time.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40She's hoping that by guaranteeing up to 50% of the estate
0:42:40 > 0:42:44will be affordable homes might help to sway the jury.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46Who's going to amend the masterplan?
0:42:47 > 0:42:51Obviously, living in a village, you do get really precious about...
0:42:52 > 0:42:55..new developments coming in and it's, even for me,
0:42:55 > 0:42:58I don't like it, but I know that it's not all that bad.
0:42:58 > 0:43:03Actually, developers create some really lovely places.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06And I think it's just the thought of losing the green space
0:43:06 > 0:43:09that is really tricky for some people.
0:43:09 > 0:43:11Do you live in a modern house, or...?
0:43:11 > 0:43:13No, I've always lived in old houses.
0:43:13 > 0:43:15I think I really like the charm of...
0:43:16 > 0:43:18Like, the character that you get in old houses,
0:43:18 > 0:43:22and being able to modernise them and bring them back to life,
0:43:22 > 0:43:24that's something I'm really passionate about.
0:43:24 > 0:43:26- But would you live in a modern house?- No. I wouldn't, no.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31No. Contradictory, but I'd never live in a new house.
0:43:34 > 0:43:39Over on the Kingsmere estate, there's been a small victory.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43Finally.
0:43:46 > 0:43:49- Do you think it looks nice?- I do!
0:43:49 > 0:43:53I'm really excited over my postbox!
0:43:53 > 0:43:57I know it sounds so ridiculous, but it's been a long time coming.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05Graham, do you get excited when you get a letter?
0:44:05 > 0:44:09- Absolutely. - He sent one to himself, didn't you? - LAUGHTER
0:44:09 > 0:44:12Because we wanted to make sure that the postbox actually worked...
0:44:12 > 0:44:16Yeah, nobody ever writes to me, other than bills, so, yeah.
0:44:16 > 0:44:20Just to check the postbox is being emptied,
0:44:20 > 0:44:22I sent a letter to self and it works.
0:44:22 > 0:44:24- What did the letter say?- It said,
0:44:24 > 0:44:29- "Well done to Vicky on getting the postbox!" - LAUGHTER
0:44:29 > 0:44:32Watching this ceremony unfold made me aware that, across Britain,
0:44:32 > 0:44:36the architects, developers and builders create the foundations of a
0:44:36 > 0:44:39- community.- Have you got your letters ready?- Ready?
0:44:39 > 0:44:42Yeah? So...there!
0:44:42 > 0:44:44Hooray!
0:44:44 > 0:44:48But it's only the people who move into these houses and take ownership
0:44:48 > 0:44:52of the new world around them that create a thriving neighbourhood.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55Let's hope we have lots of letters going all over the world from our
0:44:55 > 0:44:57little postbox.
0:45:02 > 0:45:06BELL RINGS There was some other good news on the estate.
0:45:06 > 0:45:10It was meant to arrive in September, and it's Christmas now,
0:45:10 > 0:45:15but the schoolchildren have something wonderful to celebrate.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18So, you have had some exciting news, haven't you?
0:45:18 > 0:45:21The crossing, what's the news with the crossing?
0:45:21 > 0:45:25- That we're going to get one. - Yay!- Yay! - THEY CHEER
0:45:27 > 0:45:31Well, we found out that we're going to have one not long ago,
0:45:31 > 0:45:35so we found out about the day after yesterday,
0:45:35 > 0:45:38so we found out then, and we're going to have a crossing and we're
0:45:38 > 0:45:40all very happy.
0:45:40 > 0:45:42I suppose it shows that if you all come together you can
0:45:42 > 0:45:46- achieve great things. - Yeah. It's really true.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48So, yeah, we kept...
0:45:48 > 0:45:51We were showing really good determination.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54I didn't really think that the crossing is going to be put up,
0:45:54 > 0:45:56so it came as a bit of a surprise.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59What will it mean now that the crossing's going to be coming?
0:45:59 > 0:46:01What advantages are there for you lot?
0:46:01 > 0:46:02The advantages are...
0:46:04 > 0:46:06..that the...what the advantages are,
0:46:06 > 0:46:09are that people can cross more safely, and old people can,
0:46:09 > 0:46:11without even getting hit.
0:46:11 > 0:46:13BELL RINGS
0:46:13 > 0:46:16KIDS CHATTER AND LAUGH
0:46:20 > 0:46:22Right, so, D-Day.
0:46:22 > 0:46:26It's the day of the decision on the Long Hanborough estate.
0:46:26 > 0:46:27What's your gut feeling?
0:46:30 > 0:46:34Um, I feel relatively positive about the outcome,
0:46:34 > 0:46:36and I feel positive for one reason only,
0:46:36 > 0:46:38and that's the need for housing.
0:46:38 > 0:46:42I'm hoping, really hoping, that will sway the balance.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44So it's all down to you, then. No pressure.
0:46:44 > 0:46:48- Well, I don't know about that. - Get your charm out. - LAUGHTER
0:46:48 > 0:46:51- Good.- But I'm sure the locals will still have concerns.
0:46:51 > 0:46:55Hannah's boss John will have just three minutes to persuade the
0:46:55 > 0:46:57authority to vote for the plans.
0:46:58 > 0:47:00For developer Graham,
0:47:00 > 0:47:04hundreds of thousands of pounds of speculative investment is hanging
0:47:04 > 0:47:08- in the balance.- But this is where planning is such a lottery.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13Would you, if it goes against you today, would you feel annoyed?
0:47:14 > 0:47:16I'll be disappointed.
0:47:16 > 0:47:19Annoyed? I'll have to wait and hear how the discussion goes,
0:47:19 > 0:47:21actually.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25Honestly, I'm a bit nervous that you guys are there, to be honest.
0:47:25 > 0:47:29Because I just worry that the members might play to the cameras,
0:47:29 > 0:47:31- if you like.- Well, that's what...yeah.
0:47:31 > 0:47:32And that does worry me.
0:47:33 > 0:47:39That we could end up with what I would call a daft decision.
0:47:39 > 0:47:43Have you arranged any bodyguards or anything for this meeting today? LAUGHTER
0:47:43 > 0:47:47No, no, I think there's more people to turn out to try and hiss and boo
0:47:47 > 0:47:49at us than physically harm us on this,
0:47:49 > 0:47:54- on this occasion anyway.- Touch wood. - Graham's my bodyguard. - LAUGHTER
0:47:54 > 0:47:56I'll be hiding behind you, don't worry.
0:47:58 > 0:48:00Well, I think we should make a move.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02Are you betting a penny?
0:48:02 > 0:48:05- No. A tube of Smarties.- All of a penny.- A tube of Smarties.
0:48:05 > 0:48:07- No, let's go for a penny.- A penny?
0:48:07 > 0:48:09Good Lord. Last of the big spenders.
0:48:09 > 0:48:11He doesn't often bet a penny.
0:48:11 > 0:48:14I've maybe heard that twice in three years.
0:48:21 > 0:48:23Do you get excited at these sort of things?
0:48:23 > 0:48:25Oh, always. Absolutely.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28Absolutely. I mean, you've got to remember,
0:48:28 > 0:48:32this is the pinnacle of 18 months' worth of work.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35And it can turn within an hour,
0:48:35 > 0:48:37for the right or wrong reason.
0:48:40 > 0:48:42GAVEL BANGS
0:48:42 > 0:48:44Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
0:48:44 > 0:48:48A very warm welcome to members of the public.
0:48:48 > 0:48:52Page 37, land north of Whitney Road, Long Hanborough.
0:48:54 > 0:48:56There is standing room only in the council chamber.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02Hannah has had to reduce the number of houses,
0:49:02 > 0:49:06increase the density of the estate, and preserve more green space.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11But will it be enough to persuade the councillors who vote?
0:49:17 > 0:49:21I would like to call the applicant's agent, Mr John Ashton.
0:49:29 > 0:49:33This is a fantastic scheme which will relate in a positive way to the
0:49:33 > 0:49:35village of Long Hanborough.
0:49:35 > 0:49:37With regards affordable housing,
0:49:37 > 0:49:41your housing officer says that 138 households are on the waiting list
0:49:41 > 0:49:43for housing in Long Hanborough,
0:49:43 > 0:49:47and that if development delivers 50% affordable housing,
0:49:47 > 0:49:49the application is supportable.
0:49:49 > 0:49:53The scheme provides for 50% affordable housing.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58I urge you to approve this sustainable scheme for up to
0:49:58 > 0:50:01170 dwellings, including much-needed affordable housing.
0:50:03 > 0:50:04Thank you, Mr Ashton.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10I wanted to refuse it.
0:50:10 > 0:50:12I still want to refuse it.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17But I can't, because I think the dangers are too great.
0:50:17 > 0:50:19I think, in this particular case,
0:50:19 > 0:50:24we have to look to the future and think of the greatest good for the
0:50:24 > 0:50:27greatest number of people in West Oxfordshire,
0:50:27 > 0:50:30because the alternative could be disastrous for it.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44APPLAUSE
0:50:45 > 0:50:48On the positive side,
0:50:48 > 0:50:49I would encourage...
0:51:05 > 0:51:09Right, those in favour of approving the application in line with the
0:51:09 > 0:51:11officer's recommendation, please show.
0:51:15 > 0:51:17And those against?
0:51:22 > 0:51:25The application is approved.
0:51:29 > 0:51:31Well, that was close, wasn't it?
0:51:31 > 0:51:34- Heaps of people on the committee. - Yeah. - LAUGHTER
0:51:40 > 0:51:43- Well, that was close, wasn't it? - Very.- Fantastic.- Well done.
0:51:43 > 0:51:46- Thanks very much.- Thanks very much. Thank you.- Good bit of design.
0:51:46 > 0:51:48- Well done. Excellent. Well, that was close.- Yeah.- Very close.
0:51:48 > 0:51:51- What was the final score? - 6-2.- 6-2. I thought...- I thought it
0:51:51 > 0:51:55- was going to go 4-4 and the casting vote of the chairman.- Yeah.
0:51:55 > 0:51:56Yeah, definitely a roller-coaster.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59You were tapping me, saying, "We're going down, we're going down."
0:51:59 > 0:52:02But, yeah, a great result. Really, really fantastic.
0:52:02 > 0:52:04- I did at one stage.- Yeah.- I thought it was going to be refused.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07Yeah, definite. The way they were talking.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10What does this mean for the silent majority?
0:52:10 > 0:52:12Well, hopefully it means that they're going to have some
0:52:12 > 0:52:15housing available in the villages where they want to stay,
0:52:15 > 0:52:19and they're not going to have to stay with their parents, they
0:52:19 > 0:52:22will have the ability to apply for some of the houses,
0:52:22 > 0:52:26either general-purpose, low-cost housing or affordable housing.
0:52:27 > 0:52:30What are you going to do now? Are you going to go back and celebrate?
0:52:30 > 0:52:33I'm going to go home, open a nice bottle of wine, and celebrate.
0:52:33 > 0:52:37- Have you told your wife yet?- No. Actually, I have. I have. - LAUGHTER
0:52:37 > 0:52:39I've sent her a text, but I haven't spoken to her.
0:52:39 > 0:52:42Oh, right, OK. And have you had one back?
0:52:42 > 0:52:45I don't know. I haven't checked.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47- I don't think... - LAUGHTER
0:52:47 > 0:52:51- "OK, well done." She'll open the bottle of wine for me. - LAUGHTER
0:52:57 > 0:53:02I noticed when they left in the dark that evening, there were no people
0:53:02 > 0:53:04waiting for them with pitchforks.
0:53:09 > 0:53:11But love them or hate them,
0:53:11 > 0:53:14developers, with virtually every home they build,
0:53:14 > 0:53:18create a dream for someone and a nightmare for someone else.
0:53:22 > 0:53:24And it was with that last thought in
0:53:24 > 0:53:28my mind that I went round to Salila's home in Longford Park.
0:53:31 > 0:53:35Plans for a new housing estate opposite her front window had just
0:53:35 > 0:53:37been announced.
0:53:42 > 0:53:44It's a lovely view.
0:53:44 > 0:53:45Yeah, it is.
0:53:45 > 0:53:50That was one of the prime reasons why we picked this property.
0:53:52 > 0:53:56- You know that space out there, have you heard about that?- No.
0:53:57 > 0:54:01There's maybe plans to build on that land or something.
0:54:02 > 0:54:07Er, no. We had no idea about that.
0:54:07 > 0:54:09Because...
0:54:09 > 0:54:11Hmm.
0:54:18 > 0:54:19Hello.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22- Hi.- Hi. How are you? - Yeah, good, thank you.
0:54:24 > 0:54:28- New houses will stand there. - Oh, I didn't know that.
0:54:28 > 0:54:30Yeah.
0:54:33 > 0:54:35That's what he heard.
0:54:35 > 0:54:38- OK.- Houses might come up there, it seems. I don't know.
0:54:38 > 0:54:40- OK.- There's a plan or something.
0:54:41 > 0:54:44I think it's, like, for something like 700 homes or something.
0:54:44 > 0:54:46- Oh...- Wow!
0:54:51 > 0:54:54Coming into this area itself,
0:54:54 > 0:54:58it gave us a feeling of being closer to home, isn't it?
0:54:58 > 0:55:01With all the wildlife, all these little insects, so we had that
0:55:01 > 0:55:03feeling, as in you know you're closer to home,
0:55:03 > 0:55:06- it reminds you of home. - It's like the countryside.- Yeah.
0:55:06 > 0:55:11And also the countryside look and feel of it, we always wanted that.
0:55:12 > 0:55:16I was so looking forward for my
0:55:16 > 0:55:19morning cup of tea or whatever, with
0:55:19 > 0:55:20my book and all that with the view.
0:55:22 > 0:55:25No, I don't want that taken away.
0:55:35 > 0:55:40The idea that no-one has a right to a view seemed particularly cruel in
0:55:40 > 0:55:42the case of this young couple.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57Before I left Longford Park,
0:55:57 > 0:55:59there was one more couple I wanted to catch up with.
0:56:02 > 0:56:04Just a few yards away,
0:56:04 > 0:56:07Jo and Freddie had moved into their new home.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10So, yeah, we'll start in the kitchen.
0:56:10 > 0:56:12So, for us, the kitchen was the most important room in the house.
0:56:12 > 0:56:16- I think that's what sold this house to us...- Yeah.- ..was the amount of
0:56:16 > 0:56:19space in the kitchen. We tested it out, didn't we, last week?
0:56:19 > 0:56:22We had your parents round, which is like a really small thing, but for
0:56:22 > 0:56:25us, it's a lifestyle, and that's what we wanted.
0:56:25 > 0:56:27So here's the lounge,
0:56:27 > 0:56:30which we've kept as much as we can as a lounge.
0:56:33 > 0:56:35When I started on this journey,
0:56:35 > 0:56:39I wanted to find out if these new estates where helping to solve the
0:56:39 > 0:56:42- housing crisis... - Hallway to the master.
0:56:42 > 0:56:47And it's undeniable - new builds are offering a lifeline to young people
0:56:47 > 0:56:49desperate to get on the property ladder.
0:56:49 > 0:56:52- Oh, wow! - Yeah, the room is massive.
0:56:52 > 0:56:56- Hence why we've gone for such an elaborate style of bed.- Yeah. - LAUGHTER
0:56:56 > 0:56:58We've got the option to.
0:56:58 > 0:57:00Well, it's not like us, is it, to do something that over the top?
0:57:00 > 0:57:04- No, no. It's our little escape as well.- Yeah.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07- Good views.- Well, yeah, not yet. - LAUGHTER
0:57:07 > 0:57:10- A bit of a building site, but... - No, definitely not good views.
0:57:10 > 0:57:11It looks like you're the first.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14We are the first in this part of the development.
0:57:14 > 0:57:16There's no-one for quite a way around us, actually.
0:57:16 > 0:57:19Yes. Does it feel a bit lonely at this stage?
0:57:19 > 0:57:21- Do you feel like you're sort of... - I think it...- ..you know,
0:57:21 > 0:57:24- in frontier land?- Yeah, it's sort of...it does. I think when you come
0:57:24 > 0:57:27- home at the end of the day, that's when you notice it.- Yeah.
0:57:27 > 0:57:29You drive up, and obviously there's just no-one around.
0:57:29 > 0:57:32- There's not that kind of hustle of coming home and...- Yeah.
0:57:32 > 0:57:34- I'm getting used to it, though.- But we are getting used to it.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37- Now I think we won't cope when we have neighbours.- I know. - LAUGHTER
0:57:41 > 0:57:43I guess the real question is
0:57:43 > 0:57:48are the estates going to create communities that, in 50 years' time,
0:57:48 > 0:57:50will be places people want to live?
0:57:55 > 0:57:57What does it feel like to be part of a new community?
0:57:59 > 0:58:03I think one of the most special things about living on a new-build,
0:58:03 > 0:58:06kind of, development is that everyone is new, and I think you
0:58:06 > 0:58:09make your own traditions, don't you?
0:58:09 > 0:58:12And you make the community how you want the community to be.
0:58:13 > 0:58:16It's becoming our dream home, really, isn't it?
0:58:16 > 0:58:18The location, we just can't believe, can we?
0:58:18 > 0:58:21We're, like, five minutes from the doctors, train station. Five,
0:58:21 > 0:58:25eight minutes' drive from the train station, which services London and,
0:58:25 > 0:58:28- you know...- It's those sorts of things which remind you every day in
0:58:28 > 0:58:31- terms of...- How lucky you are. - Yeah.- Yeah.- If you're not careful,
0:58:31 > 0:58:35- you two will start to sound a bit smug.- Yeah! - LAUGHTER