West Lancs approves 122 homes
Wain Homes has secured a go-ahead vote from the council’s planning committee to build a neighbourhood on 14 acres of fields east of Prescot Road in Aughton.
Designed by MCK Associates, the development comprises 122 homes and one cumulative acre of public open space. It would include 43 affordable homes – mostly one- and two-bedroom maisonettes and semi-detached houses.
In terms of market homes, these would range from three-bed mews residences to five-bed detached houses. In total, the project provides for six one-bedroom homes, 29 two-bedroom residences, 24 three-bedroom ones, 31 four-bedroom houses, and 32 five-bedroom properties.
Access to the neighbourhood would be off Prescot Road, with a secondary access from Parrs Lane.
Councillors resolved to approve the application in line with officer recommendation. The council officers had noted in their report that because the council has a 1.34-year housing land supply, as opposed to the required five-year one, there is a weighted balance towards approving residential projects.
In addition to MCK, the project team includes Emery Planning and Tyler Grange.
Previously, Wain Homes had sought to build 137 homes on the plot. However, it lowered the housing number to 122 after conversations with consultees.
You can learn more about the project by searching reference 2025/0565/FUL on West Lancashire Council’s planning portal.
This is a great scheme and will provide much needed family homes to the area. Well done Wain Homes.
By Anonymous
This approval will cause a lot of upset for the locals
By Local
Absolute disgrace, grade 1 agricultural land taken out of production increase in imports, higher environmental pollution, more run off. LCC failed to model the road impact just a very quick look on an area known for accidents. Why is it needed when 30% of houses in West Lancs are empty. Planning Officers need to look at data and not what developers tell them
By Anon
Absolutely no thought or planning given to the poor infrastructure in the area. Already new homes in neighbouring Ormskirk have put enormous pressure on all local services. Medical, dental, education and hospital services. The state and capacity of the road network has been completely ignored. Before any development is even thought of, the traffic congestion and flow through Aughton Ormskirk should be addressed. With the increasing HGVs a bypass for this type of traffic is desperately needed. A further 350 house development is also planned for farmland on High Lane, the A59, I dread the future of our area.
By Concerned local
Re anon unfortunately empty houses don’t count. The last planning review by government was led by a developers consultant and the formula omits this. However it is very favourable to developers, interestingly a former Minister involved then went into development. It’s incredibly difficult to overturn as it’s Statutory. But the words Marples, Ridgeway and Beeching should be a lesson from history. Labour are making things worse but you have an excellent point re food security and grade 1 land it needs stopping.
By Frank
What have West Lancs planners been doing all day so that there is only 1.34 years supply? This should have been addressed years ago so the likes of Wain homes cant use their threats. How come this passed when brown field infill sites have stalled? Why didnt Lancahire CC use their traffic models to assess the application – the lazy visit at off peak times isnt good enough? As others have noted, that probaly would have been the end of it. Come on OWEL use your new powers to sort the planning department out.
By Jim
We us there no right of appeal given it looks like permission due to incompetence? If it was a developer they would be off to the Planning Inspectors or is it due to the comment on the planning review or it’s biased towards developers?
By Anonymous
Disgraceful. The Labour Party are systematically ruining West Lancashire. Aughton will become Milton Keynes in no time.
By Anonymous
Why do we need all these houses. It needs to stop now . Who is buying them all.
By K
Re Anonymous – this wasn’t actually Labour , it was the Tories/OWEL. But it was Labours fault that the supply wasn’t identified. Incidentally Skelmersdale never reached its full population so there is at least 5 years supply there. No doubt this is too simple a solution and developers will moan that they can’t build on farm land around Aughton/ Burscough. The whole situation in West Lancashire needs an investigation.
By Anon
This site has literally been allocated as safeguarded land to be brought forward for housing development when required. It has been allocated as such since 2012 (remind me who was in government then?). In 2018 the Conservative government introduced a ‘standard method for calculating housing supply’ and required every local authority to maintain a 5-year supply. West Lancs has fallen below their required housing supply provision due to insufficient house building over the past decade. To place the blame on the current Labour government is naive and shows a complete lack of understanding of both the development plan for the area and how housing is planned for across the country.
By Anonymous
@ Anonymous. As Frank alluded to the standard methodology was written by a consultant that worked for a developer consultancy before the government of the day asked for the review. If the methodology was more like Webtag ( with obvious adjustments) this type development would never happen. Might be wrong but I thought this site was excluded from the previous plans as there were enough infill and sites elsewhere in the District.
By Anon
Oh this statement does sadden me having lived in the NW for over 50yrs I read more and more green belt , arable land been sold for ‘needed’ housing is insatiable. We have a population greater than France which is over twice the land size of the UK and yet we must continue to build build. Show me the demographics ,infrastructure , and job creation of all these sites and iOS might be convinced.
By Anonymous
Bloody disgrace class 1 agricultural land taken out of production. With a more dangerous world ln which we live so much for food security. Why are the building more 5 & 4 bedroom properties than 2 & 3 bedroom properties, surely this is where the housing need is the greatest.
By Anonn
If the comments that LCC didn’t undertake a proper traffic survey or model the increased demand and I understand the quick look was witnessed. This is grounds for Judicial Review but no one has the money to that and developers always ask for costs. The system needs an Independent Inquiry so it’s more balanced.
By P
The situation is simply out of control
By Tim Akeroyd