Plans for up to 750 new homes in Staffordshire approved
Hundreds of homes can be built on land north of Penkridge after South Staffordshire Council approved the latest phase of a major new development.
The council’s planning committee unanimously granted outline consent for up to 750 homes on land to the east and west side of the A449 at its meeting on Tuesday (January 28).
The homes will include a minimum of 40 units of specialist older people’s housing. And facilities earmarked for the site include a first school and nursery, a community hub of up to 1,000m2 floorspace providing commercial, retail, food and drink and work space and a community park.
The application, put forward by St Phillips, is the largest part of a wider development of up to 1,100 homes on a 69.5 hectare (171.8 acre) area to the north of Penkridge. Last year the committee approved two proposals put forward by Bloor Homes, for up to 215 homes on land off Stafford Road and up to 135 homes on land east of the A449.
South Staffordshire Council received 10 public responses to the latest application. Concerns were raised that 750 new homes, plus additional buildings and facilities, “is excessive for a semi-rural location like Penkridge”, a report to the planning committee said.
Councillor Gary Burnett highlighted at Tuesday’s meeting that 36% of the land was “Grade 2 very good quality” in the Agricultural Land Classification Assessment carried out for the wider 69.5ha site.
Access to the site will be via two four-arm roundabouts on the A449 and one priority junction with Lower Drayton Lane, the planning committee report said.
But committee member Councillor Victor Kelly said: “Don’t you think the two islands are a bit close together? The junction where you’ve got industrial units, a bus route, a play barn, BT communications installers as well as other units, that island would be better served at that junction.
“I’m not against this application – all I want is the betterment for the villagers of Penkridge. There’s no active travel route from the junction and bridlepath from Lower Drayton Lane to the first island, which is a concern.”
Amrit Piechocki from Staffordshire Highways responded: “With regard to the spacing of the roundabouts, they are in line with standards in design. Also they act as traffic calming features, so the proximity works well for the site.
“On the active travel route to the north, there wasn’t anything being proposed originally so we have got footway provision now. There’s no further cycle connectivity, so it didn’t make sense to have the active travel route just ending; you have got the pedestrian route, the Pegasus crossing (equestrian crossing) and pedestrian crossing as well.”
Councillor Kelly added: “To make it cohesive with the rest of the village, why can’t there be a bridge going across the River Penk? That makes it more inclusive, including the old part of the village with the new part.
“For people to get to Penkridge Middle School, they’ve got to go way out of the estates, all the way down the A449, then through the centre of the village to get to the schools. A shorter route would be more safer and healthier than going that long route.
Lead planning manager Kelly Harris replied: “I am aware of this aspiration – it was suggested as part of the Local Plan to look at it. It’s not included because it’s not proportionate to the scheme.
“It would cost an absolute fortune and there is no demonstrated need for it. It would be nice to have but it would be hard to justify this site providing a piece of infrastructure that significant, particularly when they have all the active travel measures already proposed that are already acceptable.”
