August hearing for Taylor Wimpey Lancs scheme
With its partner Homes England, the housebuilder is appealing against the refusal of 1,100 homes near Penwortham.
The Planning Inspectorate has now set a date of 23 August for the hearing, with all inquiry evidence due by 26 July, and initial statements and interested party comments invited this month.
Outline plans for The Lanes, off the A582 at Pickering’s Farm were first refused in September 2020, with “significant concerns” raised by Network Rail, Highways England and Lancashire County Council.
The developers then withdrew the plans in April 2021 ahead of submitting a fresh application, which was heard at an extraordinary meeting of South Ribble Council’s planning committee in November.
Members voted in line with officer recommendation in unanimously refusing the plans, a two-part application covering a 920-home main plot including local centre facilities, and a further 180 homes east of the main site.
The main point of contention is the strength of the partners’ commitment to delivering its portion the Cross-Borough Link Road, a spine road through the site.
Concerns were also raised over improvements to the Bee Lane bridge over the west coast not being included, given that 40 homes were proposed as having their sole road access from this route.
In a statement, TW and Homes England said: “We have been working closely with South Ribble Borough Council, the local community and other key stakeholders to develop our proposals for Pickering’s Farm and we were disappointed with the refusal of our plans in November last year.
“The site has been allocated for development in South Ribble Borough Council’s Local Plan and we intend to continue our dialogue with the council, and other consultees, to identify the next steps in bringing forward a scheme that meets the needs of the local community.”
Furthermore, they said, significant financial contributions will be made via a Community Infrastructure Levy on top of a Section 106 package. A two-form entry primay school would be included in the masterplan.
The applicants are supported by a team including planner Avison Young, architect 5plus and transport consultant Vectos. The site is allocated as one of the borough’s four major sites for development, along with Cuerden, land at Farington Moss and the Leyland test track site.
The applications concerned cover 130 acres. The wider site, which includes plots for future development, stretches to 244 acres, of which 192 are allocated for development.
