LOCAL residents and councillors have welcomed news that Warrington planners have thrown out proposals for two major housing developments at Grappenhall Heys.
While outline permission has been granted for the Homes and Communities Agency land, detailed plans for 114 dwellings and 66 dwellings on land South of Astor Drive, East of Lichfield Avenue &, South of Witherwin Avenue, Grappenhall Heys, have been rejected.
Welcoming the news local borough Cllr Ryan Bate said: “Having seen the plans for phase 1 of Grappenhall Heys, I shared residents deep concerns that the developments lacked sensitivity to existing homes and showed poor levels of design and sustainability.
“As such it is a relief that planning officers have refused the plans. I now hope that, having failed to consult before now, developers will start a dialogue with residents and councillors and come up with a better design which will compliment Grappenhall Heys and provide good homes for the area.”
Planners refused the proposal for 114 dwellings and associated development on Phase 1b saying it was considered to be in conflict with condition 26 on the original outline permission as this restricted the number of dwellings served from a single access to 100 and the application proposes 114 dwelling to be accessed from a single access.
The scheme was considered to have a detrimental impact on highway safety as a result of inadequate visibility at the priority junctions and private drives, lack of pedestrian connectivity and lack of parking.
They said the proposed development would not reinforce local distinctiveness or enhance the character and appearance of the area by virtue of the design of the proposed properties. The proposed development would not harmonise with the appearance of the existing buildings and fails to respect the architectural integrity of the wider area.
The proposal would also adversely affect the level of residential amenity that the future occupiers of the site can reasonably expect to enjoy and the development would not provide future occupants with a satisfactory standard of living by virtue of poor separation distances between proposed dwellings, overshadowing of proposed dwellings and inadequate room sizes.
Also the proposal, by reason of the type of affordable housing proposed and their location clustered together and concentrated in one area, was considered to represent an unsustainable development that is unreflective of the mix of the proposed housing types.
The proposal was also considered to be contrary to condition 16 and 21 of the outline consent as insufficient ecological mitigation and landscaping has been provided with the application to offset the loss of the biodiversity on the site. The proposal is therefore considered to be contrary to policy QE5 of the Warrington Local Plan and the provisions of the NPPF in terms of biodiversity net gain.
The application for 66 properties on Phase 1a was rejected for similar reasons and considered to have a detrimental impact on highway safety as a result of inadequate visibility at the priority junctions and private drives, lack of pedestrian connectivity and inappropriate location of parking.
Land at Grappenhall Heys earmarked for development
