Persimmon lines up consent in Darwen
The housebuilder’s plans to build 168 homes on a greenfield plot in Darwen are set to be endorsed by Blackburn with Darwen Council next week.
The development at Spring Meadows covers 16.5 acres outside Darwen, and will include a mix of two, three, four, and five-bedroom homes. An outline planning application for 134 homes was approved on the site in July 2016, meaning the latest application represents an uplift in housing numbers of around 25%.
None of the homes on the site are allocated as affordable, but the housebuilder will be asked to provide £150,000 towards off-site affordable homes in the borough, along with £150,000 for highway improvements and £1.5m for primary education as part of a Section 106 agreement.
The site is allocated in the council’s Local Plan for housing development, and neighbours a housing site to the north which is currently being developed.
Persimmon’s proposals have been recommended for approval at Blackburn with Darwen’s planning committee next week, although there have been several issues raised, with Cllrs Kevin Connor, Lilian Salton, and Neil Slater all flagging issues around traffic, public transport, school places, and the impact on wildlife.
Recommending the go-ahead, officers said the development would provide “high-quality” housing on a site allocated for development under the borough’s Local Plan. A decision is due to be made on 17 October.
The professional team includes FES Group, Redmore Environmental, Appletons, and ERAP.
There is nothing ‘high quality’ about the sort of housing produced by volume house builders.
By Basher