Path cleared for 125 Cumbria homes

Westmorland and Furness Council voted to grant approval to Oakmere Homes’ plans for a mix of apartments, bungalows, and houses on 16.5 acres of fields off Beetham Road in Milnthorpe.

The decision was made at yesterday’s strategic planning committee meeting, which also saw councillors defer a decision on Story Homes’ proposals for 194 homes in Penrith.

The Oakmere Homes application itself had been deferred in January, with councillors wanting more information regarding nutrient neutrality, access from the development onto the A6, and affordable housing.

Those questions were addressed in a planning officer’s report on the proposal. The report said that all of the above had been found satisfactory by consultees.

Access onto the A6 will be from a new road junction.

As for affordable housing, a Section 106 agreement would ensure the housebuilder provided 19 units for this purpose. Of these 19, eight would be one-bed apartments and five would be two-bed shared ownership houses. There would also be two one-bed and four two-bed first homes.

Regarding open market houses, there would be four with one bedroom, six with two, 32 with three, and 64 with four or more.

The planning officer’s report also noted that the biodiversity net gain would exceed 10% in the development, thanks to changing grassland into a more dynamic green spaces.

Smith & Love Planning Consultants advised Oakmere on its application. The project team also included Gadsden Consulting, Greenlane Archaeology, CP Viability, PDP Associates, Martin Environmental Solutions, C.J.O’Flaherty, Envirotech, and DTPC.

Learn more about the application by searching reference number SL/2022/0305 on Westmorland and Furness Council’s planning portal.