Homes England secures Driffield go-ahead

Around 380 homes including extra care facilities will be built to the north-east of the East Riding town, allowing the housing body to launch its search for a development partner.

Considering the proposals for land north and east of allotments on Cemetery Lane, the East Riding of Yorkshire planning committee decided in favour of the national housing body’s plans.

In all, 313 homes will be built out, along with 68 extra care units. A new roundabout will be built onto the A614, with realigned farm access also required.

As outlined by planning officers, the indicative layout also shows a link through to an adjacent housing development to the south, which then links up to Bridlington Road and a further residential scheme to the west, all of these sites being part of a housing allocation in the East Riding Local Plan. Barratt and Bellway are already advancing these other sites.

Tetra Tech is advising Homes England, which will now turn its attention to procuring a housebuilder partner through its dynamic purchasing framework.

Homes England had acquired most of the site from the council in March 2022, although the local authority still controls the area required for the new roundabout.

One of the five town or parish councils consulted as part of the process objected.

The housing mix will be mostly two- and three-bedroom homes – each accounting for around 40% of the scheme – it being decided beforehand that Driffield has a plentiful supply of four-bed homes already. There are nine two-bedroom bungalows included, while 52 dwellings will be one-bedroom, including 34 of the extra care units.

As the consent is outline-only, it has not been fully confirmed how many homes and which type of homes will be classed as affordable, however there is a covenant in place to ensure that the policy-compliant percentage will be achieved.