Preston flirts with greenlighting 600 homes
Residential applications in Lea from Story Homes and Higher Bartle from Bloor Homes and Taylor Wimpey are all recommended for approval when the city council planning committee meets on Thursday.
Learn more about each of the projects below.
Land west of Lea Road
- Application reference number: 06/2022/1101
No doubt housebuilder Story Homes is hoping that this application’s second performance at Preston City Council’s planning committee meeting will fare better than its first.
The scheme calls for full planning permission for 161 homes on the 21-acre northern portion of the site, which is split by the Preston-Blackpool railway line. The application seeks outline permission for a further 120 homes on the 17 acres that make up the southern end.
Story’s plans had gone before the city council in June, only to be rejected over the impact it would have on the open countryside – despite the fact it had been recommended for approval.
There was also a degree of misinformation at the meeting surrounding land that would be given to the city council for £1 to enable a Cottam Parkway railway station. Councillors discussed the application with the view that only 3.5 acres would be given, rather than the eight that are actually due to be handed over.
Because of this – and a nudge from Story that the decision could be challengeable either under appeal or judicial review – the city council’s planning officers opted to have the application go before the committee again. Once more, it has a recommendation for approval.
As part of the recommended conditions, Story would have to agree to a 20% on-site affordable housing provision.
Story’s plans for its 161 homes on the northern section of the site include 14 different house types. There would be 12 homes with five bedrooms, 113 with four, 4 with three, 24 with two, and eight with one. There is also open space planned by a waterway that goes along the site.
PWA Planning is the planning consultant for the project, with Randall Thorp advising on the masterplan. The highways consultant is Croft, drainage and flood risk expert is RSK Group, and ecologist is E3P. Miller Goodall is the noise adviser and Urban Green is leading on landscape and arboriculture.
Land to the north of former Maxy Lane
- Application reference number: 06/2024/0003
Taylor Wimpey and Bloor Homes have been moving fast on this project, submitting this reserved matters application within days of receiving outline planning permission.
The scheme zeroes in on 49 acres south of the M55, a plot of land already allocated in the city’s local plan as a strategic location.
The two housebuilders want to construct 320 homes on the site, all of which would be market homes. The houses would be a mixture of two-, three-, and four-bedroom residences.
Lichfields is the planner for the scheme, which will include a play area, cycle routes, and a central green space. As part of the outline deal, 2.5 acres on the southwest corner of the site is reserved for a future local centre and 11 acres to the north is for a secondary school.
Cars will access the development primarily from either an entrance off William Young Way or Tabley Lane. There will also be two secondary access points off of Sandy Lane.
The project team includes MPSL Planning and Design, Randal Thorp, Eddisons, RPS, ERAP, TEP, JPM Acoustics, Briary Energy, Award Energy, and Hepworth Acoustics.
