Preston looks to reject nearly 250 Broughton homes

Councillors have been recommended by officers to refuse applications from Wain Homes and from AAB Developments and Lester Developments due to their sites’ location within open countryside.

Preston Council’s planning committee will deliberate on the Broughton village residential proposals on 4 December.

Land south of Broughton Park off Whittingham Lane

• Application reference: 06/2025/0343

AAB Developments and Lester Developments are seeking outline permission to build up to 75 homes on the 16-acre, greenfield site off Whittingham Lane and south of another housing development.

Of the 75 proposed homes, 60% would be affordable and 40% would be set aside for older people. There would also be 11 bungalows.

Only around 10 acres of the site would be developed, leaving the remaining four acres for public open space, a wildflower meadow, and public footpaths.

This will be the fourth time the applicants have put a planning application for this particular site.

The first version of the project was for 111 homes and was submitted in 2018. Preston City Council initially voted to approve this application; however, a holding direction from the secretary of state led to no formal decision being made until 2020. At this point, the city council could demonstrate a five-year housing land supply and, when the application returned to committee for determination, it was subsequently refused.

A slightly different layout was part of a 2020 application, which was also rejected in 2021.

This time, the application is for fewer homes, with a greater ratio of affordable housing.

However, city council officers maintained their objection to the plan, noting that it was contrary ot the hierarchy of locations which prioritised brownfield and allocated sites and that the applicant had failed to sufficiently demonstrate that the project would have an acceptable impact on highway safety and that flood risk would be mitigated.

The project team for the scheme includes S&L Planning Consultants, Ecology Services, Betts Hydro Consulting Engineers, SCP Transport Planning, and Hepworth Acoustics.

Land to the south of Whittingham Lane and west of James Towers Way

• Application reference: 06/2025/0519

On the other side of the M6, Wain Homes has put in an outline application for up to 167 homes, an up to 50,600 sq ft care home, a 4,300 sq ft community hall, and a car park for the nearby Broughton-in-Amounderness Primary School.

The site in question is 51 acres, with access provided from Whittingham Lane.

Of the 167 homes proposed, 58 would be affordable. The residences would be a mixture of apartments, mews, semi-detached, and detached houses.

If the project was approved, the care home would be managed by Eric Wright Group’s Wrightcare Developments. The land for the community building would be transferred to Broughton Parish Council, and a parcel of land at the site’s southern end would be given to the primary school.

Previous plans for 81 homes on the site were refused in 2021 because of the site’s open countryside location and concerns over access arrangements.

Once again, the city council’s planning officers are recommending refusal because of the site’s location within the open countryside. The other reason, which is also reminiscent of 2021, is an insufficient demonstration that the project would have an acceptable impact on the strategic road network. The officers also added that there are an adequate number of care home beds in the area.

MCK Associates has drawn up the proposals for Wain Homes. The project team includes Emery Planning, HCUK Group, Wardell Armstrong, Barnes Walker, and Martec Environmental Consultants.