New housing application first from Barnsley's Local Plan effect

The first planning application to take up green field sites given over to housing when Barnsley Council adopted its long-awaited Local Plan just weeks ago has now been formally lodged.
Green: Fields off Lundhill Road already earmarked for housingGreen: Fields off Lundhill Road already earmarked for housing
Green: Fields off Lundhill Road already earmarked for housing

Developers want to put more than 200 new homes on a site of Lundhill Road in Wombwell, on land which was previously made up largely of playing fields for the former Wombwell High School.

That was demolished after it was amalgamated with Darfield Foulstone School on a new site as part of a £1bn secondary education revamp in Barnsley.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The site had been earmarked for housing, and a new primary school, as details were put together for the Local Plan – a far reaching document which identifies large areas of land to be developed for both housing and job creation until the 2030s.

Now developers are seeking formal planning permission, which would involve demolishing one bungalow on the road to make way for 229 new homes, including 23 ‘affordable homes’, which would be earmarked for rent or other forms of occupancy which allow people who would otherwise struggle in the housing market to get onto the housing ladder.

The 23 accounts for ten per cent of the site, the quota Barnsley Council expects in that part of the borough.

The site would also include 594 parking spaces, including visitor bays and garages, totalling more than two for each new property.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Barnsley Council currently owns the site and applicants Premier Construction have already held talks with local authority planners, which has helped guide the way the proposed development has been put together.

Consultations have been conducted in the area, with the biggest concern revealed as traffic issues, raised by 19 people. Another 11 thought access to the new homes would be a problem, while eight complained about overlooking from the development, with smaller numbers raising a variety of other issues.

A report answering those concerns states: “The ability of the existing wider road network to support housing has been assessed by the council as part of the Local Plan process.

“The independent assessment confirmed that the local highways network could support the proposed level of development. It is noted that the total number of dwellings proposed is below the level anticipated within this assessment.”

A decision on the application will be made later.