Plan for 193-home estate at former Stoke-on-Trent high school site set for green light
Plans to build 193 homes on a former school site are set to be approved – despite concerns over affordable housing and the loss of sports pitches.
Lovell Partnerships is proposing to redevelop the former Edensor High School site in Longton, which has been vacant for more than a decade.
The planning application has been recommended for approval, with members of Stoke-on-Trent City Council's planning committee due to make a decision on Wednesday.
Sport England has objected to the plans, due to fact that they will result in the permanent loss of football and rugby pitches, with no provision for replacements in the application.
While the city council is planning to replace the pitches – which have been out of use since the school was demolished in 2014 – Sport England says the application goes against its playing fields policy.
Council planners say that the loss of the pitches is 'regrettable', but argue that it would be 'somewhat unreasonable' for this to count against the scheme, after cabinet members agreed to invest in new playing pitches last year.
The report to the planning committee also proposes that the developer makes a £51,986 contribution to Florence Tennis & Bowling Club, and £20,165 towards improvements to the pavilion at Anchor Road playing fields.
Affordable housing is another issue discussed in the planning report. A development of this size would usually require 25 per cent affordable housing provision, but Lovell Partnerships says this would make the scheme non-viable due to the site's remediation costs.
Instead, the scheme will include eight affordable homes, equating to 4.15 per cent of the total, with the developer making a £108,590 towards footpath improvements in addition to the contribution to sport facilities.
The report states: "Whilst it is acknowledged that this is not a fully compliant policy position, it is accepted by the local planning authority, that given the viability position as demonstrated by the applicant and subsequently agreed independently, that this is the best outcome available to the site.
"It is therefore the view of officers, as part of the overall planning balance, that the scheme is capable of being recommended for approval."
The development will include a mix of housing types, ranging from one-bedroom maisonettes to four-bedroom family homes.
There will also be open space and play areas and various landscaping elements, and a management company will be created to oversee the long-term maintenance of non-adopted assets across the site.
Vehicular access to the estate will be via the existing entrance on Edensor Road, while a new emergency access point will be created via the service road on Greendock Street.
The report states: "In conclusion, and weighing in favour of the application, the principle of the proposed development here can be supported from both a national and local planning policy perspective.
The scheme would deliver 193 much needed dwellings in an accessible and sustainable location, whilst also facilitating substantial urban regeneration on a brownfield site."
---------
READ: Installation of temporary classrooms at Stoke-on-Trent school refused by planners
Free from clickbait, pop-up ads and unwanted surveys, Stoke Nub News is a quality online newspaper for our city.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly newsletter email HERE - just click the 'SIGN UP' button.
Please consider following Stoke Nub News on Facebook or Twitter.
Share:
