HCA revises Cottam Hall masterplan
The Homes & Communities Agency said over 100 residents attended the latest consultation events in June about the residential site in Preston, Lancashire.
The HCA said over 90% of the attendees were happy with the proposals and gave their support. Key partners including Preston City Council and Lancashire County Council also gave feedback at the events and have supported the proposals.
Over 1,000 new homes have been built on the 313-acre site since 1990 and the HCA is looking to develop the next phase of construction.
A masterplan proposes to bring more new homes to the area and new community facilities on the remaining 90 acres.
Initial community and partner consultations took place in November last year. Following these, changes were made to the number of homes being proposed in the masterplan.
The HCA and its partners were proposing to bring a further 1,300 new homes to the area, but that was reduced to around 1,000.
The HCA added that attendees at the June events were invited to make suggestions and where possible those ideas were incorporated into part of a revised masterplan.
The HCA said changes made as a result include:
- Revisions to the layout of homes at the site and reduced densities
- Better "greenlinks" and cycleways to Miller Green
- New space for a community facility, commercial use or local energy generation
- More measures to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists on highways and footpaths
- Changes to proposed bus routes
- Making sure that 30% of all new homes at the project are affordable
As well as this, other alterations that are currently under consideration include adding space for serviced allotments, improving emergency vehicle access throughout the scheme and strengthening measures to minimise the impact of traffic across the site.
Deborah McLaughlin, executive director North West at the HCA, said: "These events were all about listening to the community and taking their views. Through this valuable feedback, we now have a great masterplan for Cottam Hall that will help the area evolve into a high-quality environment for local people."
The HCA said work is now underway towards submitting an outline planning application later in the year.
The residential site is situated across the road from a derelict brickworks site, which is another area being proposed for redevelopment involving Tesco. This scheme was approved by Preston City Council in July.
