Relief road approved to carve out start of Huncoat Garden Village

Hyndburn Council’s cabinet has signed off a compulsory purchase order process and the appointment of Eric Wright Civil Engineering as pre-construction contractor to open up a site earmarked for 1,800 homes.

Last week’s decision will stimulate the Huncoat Garden Village masterplan – the Arcadis and Avison Young-designed neighbourhood to be delivered in collaboration between Hyndburn Council, Homes England, and Lancashire County Council over the next 15 years.

In November 2024, Hyndburn Council voted to accept a £30m slug of cash from Homes England’s brownfield infrastructure land fund for a reset junction and residential relief road that would unlock the 335-acre residential plot.

The relief road, to be known as Huncoat Lane, will stretch west to east across the area from a turn-off on Altham Lane to the A679, where a new junction will connect the scheme directly to the A56.

A segregated cycle lane will run parallel to the road, separated from cars by protective tree planting.

Hyndburn Council appointed Avison Young to assist with the acquisition strategy for the land, which previously hosted the Huncoat Power Station and its former colliery site.

The wider brownfield plot is set to be transformed into a sustainable neighbourhood of 1,816 mixed tenure houses, offering both affordable and social housing.

In addition to the homes, Huncoat Garden Village envisions the formation of a community-focused village centre, a local primary school extension, and 59 acres of functional open space, which includes sports and play facilities.

Huncoat Garden Village’s masterplan was approved in 2021. Credit: via Hyndburn Council, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0

At the scheme’s heart, the local centre could provide a 4,800 sq ft food store with supporting community uses, such as a gym, café, or co-working space.

Provisional plans also indicate the local centre could be home to around 130 apartments with 120 car parking spaces.

Nearby, Huncoat Primary School is set for an expansion to accommodate relocating families.

As part of the garden village vision, the scheme will be interconnected with active travel routes to encourage safe cycling and walking.

The Huncoat Garden Village indicates that 98 acres of the total 440-acre masterplan area would be developed for residential, 216 acres would be reserved as public open space, with a further 41 acres of safeguarded land for future residential and infrastructure development.

Arcadis’ masterplan, which includes 85 acres of existing developed land, could unlock £430m of private investment into the area, according to documents lodged with Hyndburn Council.