Mixed fortunes for Preston housing
Outline plans for 1,100 homes accessed from the Western Distributor Road have won approval in Preston, with a smaller proposal from Wainhomes refused.
The larger scheme is being progressed by Scottish property business Robertson Group, working with trustees of the Tom Barron Pension Scheme.
In a hybrid application the applicants sought full consent for a new roundabout and associated works from the £207m distributor road, which is currently under construction; and outline permission for up to 1,100 homes, with the possibility of a primary school and local retail centre in addition.
The site in question comprises 111 acres in three parcels of primarily agricultural land, close to the 17th century Bartle Hall country hotel. As outlined last month by Place North West, the site will be divided into four development zones.
While Preston’s planning committee, which met on Thursday 1 April, also approved a reserved matters application from Stewart Milne Homes for 98 houses in Broughton, it refused consent for Wainhomes, in line with officer recommendation.
Wainhomes had put forward plans for 42 homes on land to the west of Sandy Lane, Cottam, within the context of a wider 230-home scheme, close to Preston’s proposed east-west link road.
The housebuilder secured consent in January for the local centre element of the scheme, comprising retirement apartments, a medical centre, hotel and pub.
However, officers said this part of the scheme would prejudice the delivery of strategic green infrastructure in the North West Preston Strategic Location, as three-quarters of the proposed site intruded into a zone earmarked as one of two “metropolitan parks” for an area intended to take much of the city’s new housing.
