Blackpool housing refused on insufficient density
The Planning Inspectorate found that proposals for six detached homes off Bennetts Lane amounted to “inefficient use of land”.
Applicants Mr and Mrs Withers sought consent in 2022 for six four-bedroom, detached homes on a 1.4-acre site in the Marton area of Blackpool.
However, the council rejected the plans the following year, stating that the scheme would “compromise the housing delivery in South Blackpool and be detrimental to the council’s aims and strategies for South Blackpool housing growth”.
An earlier proposal from developer Kensington proposed more than 30 homes on the site as part of the wider 422-home Moss House Road scheme. This was approved in 2017.
However, the appeal site is under the ownership of the Withers, not Kensington, meaning the earlier, denser development is unlikely to come forward.
However, looking at the Withers scheme, the inspector concluded that it would be “possible to deliver a significantly higher housing density on this site in a manner that would be acceptable in design terms”. The inspector agreed with the council that the six-home plan would harm the authority’s housing aims for the area.
Read the inspector’s full report
Since the refusal, the applicant has lodged revised plans for 14 two-bedroom homes which are yet to be determined.
The applicant argued that the council had told it that the 14-home scheme was too large but the council refutes this.
To learn more about the six-home project, search for reference number 22/0290 on Blackpool Council’s planning portal.
To learn more about the more recent, 14-home plans, use reference number 23/0733.
Hell yeah – more of this please!! If we don’t properly utilise land we are only going to be in a situation where we run out again and housebuilders will be chomping for more green belt release.
Use land resourcefully!!
By Anonymous
This is interesting.
Whilst I understand the reason for the refusal, and in partly agree with it when I have my work hat on. From a life outside work point of view, I’ve always been put off by newbuild developments due to the cramped nature of developments, and a feeling of greed/”cram as many in as possible to maximise revenue” etc.
So this refusal means the council are complicit in creating this cramped atmosphere on new build developments??
Surely we should be building a varied housing stock to appeal to a variety of homeowners with a view to retaining those who want (or need) a bit more space rather than pushing them into moving away from the area?
I understand if we’re talking about 6 houses where you could fit 100. But we’re talking 6 (large family 4+ bedroom houses) that could take 14 (2 beds).
Allowing one or 2 of these applications occasionally on smaller plots would help create a varied housing stock in my view.
By Anonymous
@ August 29, 2024 at 12:52 pm
By Anonymous
I think the secret here is not just the rooms but the styles of housing. Having townhouses in rows with private gardens would be a great way to use space wisely and house more people in comfort.
Blackpool Council are in the process of devising a design code for the district so would be interesting to see what this looks like.
By Rye
Moss house lane already has high end housing, building high density homes would not be appropriate to this rural area. Also the increase in traffic joining Preston new road would increase the accident risk. Building four luxury homes would add 8 cars, building 14 homes would generate 28 additional cars on average. Widening the lane to accommodate the extra traffic would add extra cost or the council could make it a one way lane for safety reasons. 8 three bed semi detached could be a sensible outcome.
By Alan Currie