Lake District signs off 40 homes

Atkinson Building Contractors hopes to address the “chronic under-delivery of affordable housing in Ambleside” with its plans for the three-acre field situated between Loughrigg Park and Borrans Road.

Members of the Lake District National Park development control committee signed off the residential plans at a meeting yesterday. The applicated has been delegated to the head of development management, who will approve the plans according to a Section 106 agreement.

The Align Property Partners-designed scheme will deliver 40 homes, featuring a mix of houses and bungalows. There will be four one-, 13 two-, 18 three-, and five five-bedroom properties.

Of the 40 residences, 22 will be affordable.

The decision to approve the scheme was made in line with officer recommendations, despite attracting a number of concerns regarding the development’s impact on flooding and water quality.

Further objections raised by the Lakes Parish Council, Friends of the Lake District, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, and members of the public include the density of the project, as well as the loss of trees.

In a council report, officers stated that the development’s public benefits will outweigh its downfalls in addressing the “chronic under-delivery of affordable housing in Ambleside”. The site is also allocated for housing in the Lake District’s local plan.

At the meeting, Cllr Tiffany Hunt stated that the committee had looked at the plans as objectively as possible and it was a question of balance, that tips “just in favour” of the application.

The project team includes APP, Curtins, TPS, Envirotech Ecological Consultants, and CFA Archaeology.

Want to learn more about the proposals? Search for application number 7/2022/5572 on Lake District National Park’s planning portal.