Story’s 194 Penrith homes rejected, Barratt’s 105 houses sail through

It was a mixed bag of results from Westmorland and Furness Council’s strategic planning committee meeting on Wednesday.

An unhappy ending

Despite an officer recommendation of approval – and an increase in affordable housing provision – councillors were not swayed by Story Homes’ proposals for 194 homes between Inglewood Road and Centurion Rise in Penrith.

Situated on land allocated for housing in the local plan, this was meant to be the second phase of the developer’s Centurion Rise scheme.

The project had first gone before the committee in March, but deferred at a request for the developer and council planning team to consider adding bollards, boosting affordable housing, and adding a community building.

The council’s own team opted to not enforce the bollards request, noting in an officer report that it would not deliver significant gains and would necessitate and extensive redesign of the project.

An onsite community hub request also was knocked back, with the developer saying there was no suitable location but that the nearby Penrith Golf Club could provide more community services down the line.

There was movement on the affordable housing provision though, with an additional five coming into play. The revised plan that went before councillors included nine affordable rent properties (including four bungalows) and 20 discounted ones.

Councillors were unmoved however by the changes and gave the project the red light.

The project team for the scheme included Designed by Pod and Urban Green.

You can learn more about the application by searching application reference number 22/0256 on Westmorland and Furness Council’s planning portal.

Barratt Homes’ plans for the 10-acre site included building 105 homes. Credit: via planning documents

Housing success

Unlike Story, Barratt Homes emerged victorious from the meeting having secured votes of approval for its 105-home project off Carleton Road in Penrith. The project, like the Story scheme, sits on land allocated for housing in the local plan.

The 10-acre site is currently used for grazing by the nearby Carleton Hall Farm. Barratt’s plans include a mixture of mews, semi-detached properties, and detached houses. These would have between two and four bedrooms, with a housing density of 15 homes per acre.

Planning officers, in their report recommending approval, noted that Barratt’s development was more than the allocated 86 homes in the local plan. In its favour, however, was the provision for 31 affordable homes – that equates to 30% of the project. Of those 31, 11 would be for affordable rent, 10 for shared ownership, and 10 for discounted sale.

Councillors agreed with officers and voted to approve the project.

Steven Abbott Associates is the planning consultant for the scheme.

Learn more about the application by searching application reference number 19/0840 on Westmorland and Furness Council’s planning portal.