Bloor plots 220 Ormskirk homes
Outline proposals prepared by Astle Planning & Design have been lodged with West Lancashire Council for the Crosshall Brow site.
Should consent be granted, the scheme could include detached, semi-detached and mews dwellings with associated landscaping, car parking and public open space.
Bloor Homes’ team includes planner Satplan, Betts Hydro and Betts Geo, Eddisons, Tyler Grange, JPM Acoustics, SLR, Oracle and Orion Heritage.
Currently used as agricultural land, Bloor’s site is around 24.5 acres, to the east of Ormskirk. It is around 1.2km from the town centre. There are two conjoined red line plots, both within the same ownership.
The site is bounded to the north by Crosshall Brow and housing, to the east by a public footpath and agricultural land, to the south by Ruff Wood and to the west by Ormskirk District General Hospital.
APD said that “the future development’s character will be influenced by the local surroundings and use materials that will reflect the local vernacular”. The advisor said that the site is in a sustainable and accessible location, close to shops and supermarkets with the benefit of transport links to local centres.
With the plans validated on 12 January, the deadline for neighbour consultation has now passed, with the proposals meeting with some resistance – a number of objections have piled up in the documents section of the planning portal, although several are duplicate submissions.
As set out in the planning statement from Satplan, pre-application discussions have set out clearly what is expected at the site. It is wholly Green Belt, meaning “very special circumstances” must be shown to allow development. The site’s Flood Zone 1 status means a detailed flood risk study is required, while the land’s agricultural quality and the proximity of ancient woodland at Ruff Wood are also factors.
Against that must be weighed West Lancs’ chronic housing supply position, which at the time of the pre-application meeting stood at 1.86 years, far enough short of five years to suggest there is unlikely to be meaningful change by the time the project reaches committee.
Council officers acknowledged at that meeting, Satplan said, that the scheme providing 50% affordable housing could “attract substantial positive weight” when the time for determination comes.
Want to know more? The proposal’s document suite can be seen on West Lancs Council’s planning portal, with the reference 2025/1053/OUT.
