Housebuilder Bellway submits multi-million pound plans to build 120 new homes at a Liverpool city region site. Tony McDonough reports
Housebuilder Bellway has submitted a planning application to Knowsley Council to build 120 new homes and public open space in Cronton.
If approved, this proposed development would comprise 40% affordable housing to meet local need and almost a quarter of the 10-acre site would be provided as green open space which would be open to the wider community.
An affordable home is where the rent or sale price is no more than 80% of the local market rate.
This development would be located on land to the north of Cronton Road, at the western edge of the village, and the homes would be built by Bellway’s North West division, which is based in Liverpool.
As part of the planning agreement for the development, Bellway would make financial contributions towards education and outdoor sports provision. Improvements to footpaths and bus stops close to the site are also being proposed.
Sebastian Burrow, strategic land director for Bellway’s North West region, said: “Working closely with planning officers at Knowsley Council, we have identified the land at Cronton Road as an important grey belt site which can be unlocked to deliver much-needed family housing for the area.
“The council currently has insufficient land within the urban area to meet housing needs in the borough and this site represents a logical and appropriate location for residential development.
“It is sustainably located within walking distance of local services and amenities in Cronton and is well served by public transport.
“Significantly, the site’s classification as grey belt means that 40%of homes would be affordable housing for local people unable to purchase on the open market – an uplift of 15% on the council’s normal requirement for developments of this size.”
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Plans include two areas of public open space within the development, the enhancement of the existing public right of way which runs through the site, and the creation of a new footpath leading to the dog walking field to the north-east corner of the site.
Proposed off-site improvements include the widening of footpaths on Cronton Road and Smithy Road to improve pedestrian access and improvements to bus stops on Cronton Road.