Rochdale approves 102 homes in Castleton

Hive Homes is set to construct the entry-level open-market houses on eight acres of brownfield off Nixon Street.

Rochdale Council signed off on the project at its 20 January planning committee meeting.

Designed by MCK Associates, the scheme turns the old Carcraft car supermarket site into a neighbourhood with 85 three-bedroom houses and 17 four-bedroom ones, as well as 53,820 sq ft of public open space. In the application, 5.6 acres of land towards the southern end of the development has been set aside for a future school to be built.

The houses would be a mix of semi-detached and detached houses. None of which would be designated affordable due to viability concerns.

The developer successfully argued that the transfer of land to the council for the school should offset much of its section 106 requirements. Still, the planning committee recommended that a legal agreement include £81,654 towards a traffic regulation order as well as the land for the school.

Plans for the project were initially submitted in December 2020. Their reference number with Rochdale Council is 20/01429/FUL.

The project team for the application included Hive Land and Planning, WSP, Delta Simons, Bowland Tree Consultancy, and Chris Partington Land Surveyors. Eddisons was the transport consultant. Edge Consulting handled flood risk and drainage plans.  Erap was the ecology consultant and Lanpro was the archaeological one. Grasscroft was in charge of viability.

Developer Hive Homes is a joint venture between the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Irwell Valley Homes, Onward, Mosscare St Vincent’s, Great Places Housing Group, One Manchester, Salix Homes, Wythenshawe Community Housing Group, Trafford Housing Trust, Southway Housing Trust and Bolton at Home.

Hive Homes was founded in 2018.