A planning application refused in May by Westmorland and Furness Councils strategic planning committee for 194 houses on land along Inglewood Road is set for a third time to be put before the councils strategic planning committee with a recommendation to approve by the council planning officers.
In May officers of the council had recommended the application to members for approval with various conditions including the requirement for the 194 Story Homes Development to pay a secondary education contribution of £883,944.
The committee received representation on the applications with a local resident raising concerns over the Inglewood Road development due to the road linking to the development from the phase 1 Story development and the need for a bollard to stop a rat run developing.
The council also received a representation on both applications by a spokesperson for Evolve Penrith who called on the committee to set a new benchmark for development that rather than negatively impact on communities, instead looked to deliver wider community benefit.
Senior Land and planning manager for Story Homes Adam McNally told the committee in May there was a ‘significant cost’ to overcome the ‘constraints’ of the site with more than £5.5 million in abnormal costs on the site.
The members of the strategic planning committee after a debate lasting over and hour with concerns over the lack of affordable housing at only 15% and the lack of community infrastructure vote to refuse the application on the grounds that “The proposed development does not provide sufficient affordable housing to meet the target set out in the adopted Eden local plan and the lack of affordable housing will not provide sufficient low-cost dwellings for the community of Penrith.”
Officers said it was likely the council would face a public hearing via the planning inspectorate appeal over the refusal and that councillors would have to appear before that appeal hearing with the council potentially facing substantial costs awards made against it through an appeal hearing.
The application will return before the strategic planning committee at a meeting in Kendal on Wednesday the 10th of July with officers again recommending the plans be approved with conditions.
Following conversations with planning officers Story Homes have put forward a reprioritised offer of 20% provision of affordable housing in place of £884,000 previously set aside for education contributions and to provide a £30,000 contribution to improvements with the provision of new play equipment at the adjacent Fairhill playing fields, owned by the town council who objected to the application.
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