by Charles Campion
How do you create a neighbourhood where community is not simply an aspiration, but a key principle embedded from the outset that shapes the design, delivery and long-term stewardship of the place?
This question framed the recent “Learning Journey” to Woodgate, Pease Pottage, which I organised as part of JTP’s ongoing Creating Healthy Communities event series. Clients, consultants and partners, including Plunkett UK, came together to explore the award-winning new neighbourhood that places community at the centre of placemaking.
Designed by JTP in collaboration with developer Thakeham, Woodgate is set within the High Weald National Landscape (formerly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and comprises 619 homes focussed around a village hub with village green, primary school, 48-bed hospice, community building, café and community-run shop, established with the support of Plunkett UK. Together, all these elements create more than a housing development, they form the foundations of a thriving neighbourhood, where social infrastructure has been planned and delivered as an essential element of place.
Too often, community infrastructure in new places is treated as an afterthought often introduced late, underfunded, and disconnected from the people it is intended to serve. At Woodgate, the approach was fundamentally different. Community was embedded from day one, shaping the vision and masterplan, informing the design process and helping create the conditions for long-term stewardship and belonging.
This vision was brought to life in the welcome from Rob Boughton, Founder and CEO of Thakeham, who shared the original ambition behind Woodgate and the thinking that shaped its delivery. His introduction was followed by guided walkabouts led by Rob, Sarah Crush, Thakeham’s Social Value Manager, and JTP’s Andrew Dobson, Project Architect for Woodgate. The tour demonstrated how design decisions at every scale – from the integration of homes within the Sussex landscape to connected green spaces and wildlife corridors – have been carefully considered to encourage residents to enjoy the outdoors, foster interaction and create opportunities for everyday community life to flourish.
“Placemaking for us was about community creation – how do we get people to interact?”
Rob Boughton, CEO, Thakeham
Following the neighbourhood tour and lunch at the locally run JO.CO café, Harriet English, Deputy CEO of Plunkett UK, presented the story of the Woodgate Community Shop, from its early conception through to its establishment as a community-owned asset, structured as a Community Benefit Society, and run by local residents supported by Plunkett UK.
Staffed by a mix of employees and volunteers, with profits reinvested locally, the shop demonstrates how community ownership can become a meaningful part of neighbourhood infrastructure, supporting local enterprise, creating jobs and training opportunities, and giving residents a genuine stake in the life and future of their community. As a model, it offers an important lesson for future neighbourhoods: community ownership can be designed in from the outset, rather than introduced retrospectively.
“Woodgate is an excellent example of “how to build a successful large-scale development”, evidenced in not just the way it looked, but that the sense of place and placemaking was embedded in every aspect of the site itself. This can only result from a strong vision for that sense of community and then engaging both neighbouring and new residents in every aspect of its development and build out.”
Mark Patchett, Community Stewardship Solutions
The visit prompted thoughtful discussion and reflection among attendees during the concluding Q&A session, with many inspired by Woodgate as a great case study of how placemaking, stewardship and community participation can be successfully integrated.
Reflecting on the day, JTP’s Andrew Dobson said, “There is something very special about returning to a project and seeing it through the eyes of people experiencing it for the first time. The questions asked and the conversations we had on the day confirmed what we always hoped Woodgate would be – not just a well-designed neighbourhood, but a genuine model for how community-led thinking can shape better places. It is a collaboration with Thakeham Homes that JTP is very proud to have been part of.”
“Mainstreaming Community” event in Leeds during UKREiiF Week – 21 May 2026
The Creating Healthy Communities theme continues later this month, when Plunkett Foundation hosts a seminar in Leeds during UKREiiF week on Thursday 21 May, 10.30am–12 noon, supported by Leeds Building Society, entitled “Mainstreaming Community: The Blueprint for a Greater Community role in Ownership, Management and Stewardship of New Place”. The session will explore how greater community involvement in the ownership, management and stewardship of new places can become the norm rather than the exception.
The panel will be chaired by Ben Holden from Plunkett UK, featuring Jonathan Wilson from developer Citu; JTP’s Sophie Thomas-Lacroix; Tom Chance, Community Land Trust Network, and; Alan Carter from The Land Trust. The discussion will focus on how placemaking can move beyond physical development and create the conditions for communities to thrive over generations.
To book your free place, register below:
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