Council puts in for cross-boundary housing
A professional team representing Blackpool Council has lodged plans for 99 homes close to Carleton Crematorium, a site under the jurisdiction of Wyre Council.
Now validated by Wyre, the outline proposal is for land mostly bound by Blackpool Road, close to Blackpool Old Road and the crematorium.
Architect DC&MG Associates is joined on the professional team by planner De Pol Associates.
At present the site is primarily vacant, being made up of former farmland associated with Woodhouse Farm, which is no longer functional, DC&MG said.
Blackpool Road runs north of the site, and the main railway branch line connecting Blackpool with Preston runs to the south. The now-vacant Woodhouse Farm, comprising a farmhouse and outbuildings lies north-east of the site.
Also in the area is housing under development by Bellway and Story Homes, further beyond the farm buildings.
According to the scheme’s design & access statement, 30% of homes will be affordable in line with policy and at least 20% adaptable for people with restricted mobility. The councils have a common housing allocations policy, so applicants are eligible across council boundaries.
Although part of the site’s red-line boundary falls within Flood Zones 2 and 3, no development is proposed for those areas.
DC&MG said that pre-application discussions had looked at how development could “provide an organic extension to Poulton-le-Fylde and interconnection with the allocation and surrounding built form”. The site is around 1.5m from the centre of Poulton.
De Pol said in its planning statement that “whilst the application site is not specifically allocated for housing in the Local Plan there is no ceiling to development and the Local Plan permits windfall development within settlement boundaries in principle.
“Not only is the application site located within a defined settlement boundary but it is within an urban town ranked at the very top of the settlement hierarchy, where the Local Plan strategy seeks to direct the majority of development. It is also in an accessible location and would be compatible with neighbouring land uses.”
Scheme documents can be viewed on Wyre Council’s planning portal, reference 26/00217/OUTMAJ.
