Planners recommending approval for “blot on the landscape” development at Grappenhall Heys

CONTROVERSIAL plans to build 228 new family homes on a greenfield site at Grappenhall Heys, previously described as a “blot on the landscape” by nearby residents, are being recommended for approval by Warrington Borough Council planners.

Developers Urban Splash, selected by Homes England to deliver the final phase of development at Grappenhall Heys homes, created in partnership with Sekisui House, Japan’s largest housebuilder and the world leader in zero-carbon homes, are seeking approval of reserved matters relating to appearance, landscaping,layout and scale for 228 dwellings.

A total of 152 objections have been received from residents compared to one letter of support.
Local residents say the design is not in keeping with the character of the Grappenhall Heys area, materials and colours are not in keeping; flat roofs are not in keeping, the proposal is too dense and the design is ugly.
Appleton Parish Council has raised concern the design is not in keeping with the area, while Grappenhall Parish Council has objected saying the development is not sustainable development and will create an additional enclave of development disconnected from local services.
The application, which comes before Warrington’s Development Management Committee at the Parr hall next Wednesday (June 30) is for 228 residential homes, new public realm and landscaping, access, parking, playspace and associated works on land south of Curzon Drive, Keepers Road and Boddington Road, east of Lichfield Avenue and west of Stansfield Drive, Grappenhall Heys, Warrington Planners are recommending approval saying the principle of development has been established by the outline consent.
They say the application would lead to a quality development that safeguards amenity for adjacent occupiers whilst providing a high level of amenity for future residents.
The design of the proposal is of bespoke, high quality and presents a unique opportunity to diversity choice in Warrington’s Housing offer.
The proposal will not have an unacceptable impact upon local highway network and provides an acceptable level of car parking provision meeting the Council’s standards.
The proposal includes adequate protection of protected species and ecological mitigation and the development will not have an unacceptable impact upon flood risk.
The application site currently comprises open fields of 12.01 hectares. The site is not allocated in the Local Plan Core Strategy, however, outline planning permission for up to 400 dwellings was granted in January 2017 and the land was originally acquired by the Commission for New Towns and has consent since September 1989 under sections 7(1) and 7(2) of the New Town Act 1981, as part of land at Grappenhall Heys for the development of residential and open space. The land is in the ownership of Homes England formerly the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).
House by Urban Splash is a partnership between Urban Splash, Homes England and Sekisui House. Urban Splash traditionally has had a strong reputation as an urban regeneration company, however, they are increasingly moving away from solely urban sites and are creating new developments in suburban locations such as those recently under construction in Cambridge and Milton Keynes, which are greenfield sites.
Urban Splash has over 25 years of experience and over 430 design awards and the proposed homes are created in partnership with Sekisui House, which is Japan’s largest housebuilder, and one of the world’s largest homebuilders, with cumulative sales of over 2.4 million homes. They also consider themselves to be a world leader in zero-carbon homes with no gas to any of the properties enabling them to use electricity from any source.
The application proposes the following mix of detached; semi-detached and terraced dwellings with 30 percent affordable housing provided, secured by S106 associated with the outline consent.
Planners go on to say The house typologies are designed to suit a range of 21st Century needs and tenures which is aiming to create a diverse multi-generational community.
It is recognised that the appearance of the properties is different from the existing (and under construction) development in the surrounding area but it is considered that this reflects a new phase of development that by virtue of the landscape led approach and high-quality architecture will be a positive addition to the identity of the area.
They say the proposal also includes ecological mitigation to offset the loss of the existing agricultural land and is in excess of the required level of ecological mitigation to be provided on the site.
It is considered that the proposal would not have a harmful impact on the amenities of the adjacent properties and the future occupiers of the site and the application demonstrates that the impact on the highway network would be acceptable.