Developer unveils former military hospital homes plan in Staffordshire village - full details here
Bellway Homes says its plan to demolish derelict military hospital buildings and build 86 new homes in the Staffordshire village of Hixon aims to deliver “much-needed new housing for the area” including affordable homes.
The housebuilder’s detailed planning application for the 10-acre site, off St Peters View, was validated on March 13 by Stafford Borough Council, which is now consulting with key organisations on the plans.
Members of the public are also invited to have their say on the proposals which involve demolishing five Second World War buildings associated with the former RAF Hixon Military Hospital, on the eastern part of the site.
The new homes would include 60 two, three and four-bedroom houses for private sale and 26 affordable homes – a mix of one-bedroom maisonettes and two and three-bedroom houses.
There would also be three acres of green open space, including a new children’s play area with timber play equipment and natural features such as boulders and logs, a kickabout space, picnic benches, a community orchard, and footpaths and cycleways.
The application is a collaboration between Bellway’s strategic land team and its West Midlands division.
Chris O’Hanlon, senior planning manager for Bellway, which is building homes across the region, including Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands, said: “The evolution of our plans for this site in Hixon has involved close liaison with Stafford Borough Council and public consultation conducted with the local community last year.
“This project will deliver much-needed new housing for the area, including 30 per cent affordable housing for low-cost rent or shared ownership, helping local people to find homes which meet their needs in the village.
“Our design approach has very much been guided by the site’s rural setting in Staffordshire, with a landscape-led scheme which retains approximately a third of the land as green open space.
“Existing trees including a veteran oak tree will be retained and integrated into the scheme. Wildlife features, such as bat and bird boxes, log piles, hibernacula and insect hotels, alongside wildflower and grassland meadow, native planting and a new attenuation pond, will promote biodiversity.
“Materials have been carefully chosen for the new homes to complement those in the surrounding area, while the layout of the site has been designed to preserve views of nearby St Peter’s Church.”
The former RAF Hixon opened in 1942 as an Operational Training Unit, used for training pilots to fly fighter aircraft and larger aircraft.
The now-derelict buildings, which are earmarked for demolition, formed the airfield’s hospital - comprising the main hospital block and annex, an air raid shelter, an ambulance garage/mortuary, and a picket post.
To read more on the plan, or have a say, go to the Stafford Borough Council planning portal (search planning reference 25/41489/FUL). The deadline for comments is April 21.
You can find out more about planning applications where you live by going to the publicnoticeportal.uk.
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