Over 300 homes will soon be built on farmland in Southport after planning approval was granted.
Wainhomes North West Ltd has been given full planning permission to build 128 dwellings on 4.6 hectares and outline planning permission to build a further 200 properties on five hectares of land at Bankfield Lane in Churchtown, after amended plans were submitted to Sefton Council’s planning office.
Access would be via Blundell Lane and onto Bankfield Lane.
Work is currently taking place by Elan Homes to construct 157 new homes on the site of the former Philips Factory on the other side of the bridge to the scheme, on Rufford Road,
Together, the new developments will soon add 457 new homes to the Churchtown area, with 450 more earmarked for Moss Lane in Churchtown under Sefton Council’s Local Plan for the borough.
Permission has been granted for 328 homes on Bankfield Lane in Churchtown in Southport
The plans for Bankfield Lane were first submitted in May 2017, but had been included in Sefton Council’s Local Plan which had removed the land from greenspace classification.
An Approval Notice has now been signed by Sefton Council Chief Planning Office Derek McKenzie after the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government ruled that the council should be the relevant authority to determine the scheme.
Wainhomes says it plans to build “a superb new development of 2, 3, 4 and 5 bedroom family homes situated in a semi-rural location on the outskirts of Southport”.
It had originally anticipated that the scheme would be launched at the end of 2020.
Permission has been granted for 328 homes on Bankfield Lane in Churchtown in Southport
In its application, Wainhomes said: “The proposals have been carefully designed to be in keeping with the character of the area and provide an attractive active frontage to Bankfield Lane and to the fields to the south of the development.
“The site is highly accessible to public transport and services, and would contribute to meeting Sefton’s high affordable housing need. The site is not subject to any significant constraints, and has been deemed appropriate to allocate for housing in the Local Plan.”
The homes must be built within the next three years, with a number of conditions due to be set including: procedures for maintaining good public relations including complaint management, public consultation and liaison; proposed construction hours; mitigation measures to minimise noise disturbance from construction works; control measures for dust and other air-borne pollutants; measures to control flooding on site during construction; and adequate provision for contractor parking.
Mitigation measures must also be taken for the protection of water vole, breeding birds, water courses, hedgerows and retained vegetation.
An updated scheme for the eradication of Japanese Knotweed must also be implemented in full.
Before building work begins above ground level, a number of improvement work must be taken to the local area.
These include the reconstruction and widening of Blundell Lane, to create a 5.5m wide road and 2m footway on either side, which would be used for access to the new scheme.
The scheme would also include the relocation of the Royal Mail Post Box outside 80 Bankfield Lane, the provision of a right turn ghost island for traffic heading north easterly on Bankfield Lane to access Blundell Lane and the relocation and upgrading of bus stops near the junction of Blundell Lane on both sides of Bankfield Lane.
Appeals against the decision can be made to the Planning Inspectorate within six months of the notice to:
Phone: 0303 444 5000
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.gov.uk/appeal-planning-decision
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