Wakefield tipped to approve 800 homes
Taylor Wimpey, Keepmoat and Persimmon all head to planning committee next week with recommendations for approval.
Taylor Wimpey – Altofts Hall Farm
Hotly contested locally, Taylor Wimpey is seeking full consent for a 43-acre agricultural site, between Normanton 450m to the east and Altofts to the west, fronting Station Road
Since the plans were submitted, the buildings on site have been demolished. A bridleway on site forms part of the Wakefield Wheel route, and dissects the site from north to south, linking through to residential properties on Altofts Hall Road to the north.
Full planning permission is sought for 406 homes, comprising a mix of apartments, bungalows and housing of two to four bedrooms.
The applicant is proposing various areas of public open space throughout the site including a gateway feature at the entrance to create a village green with a play area, a large area of open space to the eastern edge, a small area of open space towards the west and a linear west-east green route following an existing watercourse.
Although the site is allocated for housing, the plans have attracted a whopping 967 letters of objection, along with a petition that has secured 2,000+ signatures.
Taylor Wimpey’s professional team includes Stantec, Parker Peel, Paragon Highways and FDA Landscape.
The breakdown is:
Private sale:
24 two-bedroom apartments, one three-bedroom bungalow, 54 two-bedroom dwellings, 204 three-bedroom dwellings, 73 four-bedroom dwellings. Total: 356
Affordable housing:
Three three-bedroom bungalows, eight two-bedroom dwellings, 22 three-bedroom dwellings, eight four-bedroom dwellings. Total: 41
Self/custom build:
Seven three-bedroom dwellings, two four-bedroom dwellings. Total: 9
Keepmoat – South Elmsall
Keepmoat is seeking permission to demolish a small number of high street properties to facilitate development of a 112-home project.
Twenty seven objections have been received for a project that crosses two separate site allocations. Keepmoat proposes 24 two-bedroom homes, 74 three-bed homes and 14 four-bed homes.
Keepmoat’s professional team includes Brooks Ecological, Haigh Huddleston & Associates, Urban Green and AES Sustainability Consultants.
Persimmon – Common Lane, Knottingley
The York-headquartered housebuilder wants to build 298 homes around 1km south of Knottingley centre, close to Racca Green’s local services.
Planner Lichfields is advising Persimmon. Smeeden Foreman is the landscape architect.
As described by planning officers, the site is an underutilised area of land with a former farmyard area in the north-west, with a made surface. The remainder of the site is rough pasture intersected with hedgerow field boundaries. A footpath runs across the site.
Thirteen house types are proposed, in a scheme that would also include public open space. The breakdown is 125 two-bedroom homes, 32 2.5-bed homes, 69 three-bed homes, and 72 four-bed homes.
More than 120 objections have been lodged.
Wakefield’s planning committee meets on Thursday 18 July.
All the projectds can be viewed on Wakefield’s planning portal. The Taylor Wimpey reference is 23/00322/FUL; Keepmoat’s 22/00358/FUL and Persimmon’s 22/00345/FUL.
