Third Revolution is leading the Sustainability and Future Thinking Strategy for a major new settlement West of Ifield, Crawley, on behalf of Homes England.

The work underpins the site allocation and outline planning application for this 10,000-home development and provides the basis for delivering an exemplar sustainable development. The scheme will be built over several decades, and it is only by first understanding how society, environment and technologies are changing that it will be able to meet future needs and remain a place that people want to live and invest. In response, Third Revolution created a Future Thinking Conceptual Framework for the masterplan, infrastructure decisions, and sustainability strategy. It also informs Homes England’s delivery and governance decisions.

It is the culmination of our experience as town planners, strategists, and sustainability experts. Our innovative approach starts by using research and trends to demonstrate how major technological, environmental and societal drivers of change are transforming the way people are living, working, shopping, moving about, and the sorts of infrastructure needed to support this. Many transformations are becoming evident during the pandemic, such as flexible working, but reflect pre-existing trends, such as the zero-carbon transition and greater on-line retail.

Working closely with the client and design team, we have applied this research to create a place specific framework for themes such as neighbourhood structure, housing types, environmental infrastructure, land uses, and the relationship between the new and existing communities.

Ultimately, the framework will help ensure the place is fit for the future, and is commercially viable, sustainable, and deliverable at pace.

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