Planning proposal lodged for scheme including 350 homes

The plan for Great Eccleston

Lancashire planning consultancy De Pol Associates has submitted an outline planning application for a 16-hectare site in Great Eccleston in Wyre.

The application, submitted on behalf of land promoter Metacre, involves provision for a new school, medical centre, community hall, convenience store, public open space, employment area, and up to 350 new homes.

The application site – which lies south of the A586 Garstang Road, north of Copp Lane and to the west of the existing village centre – forms part of a wider 33.7-hectare site allocated in the Wyre Local Plan for a residential-led mixed-use development.

Working closely with Wyre Borough Council, and on behalf of Metacre, De Pol and architects Baldwin Design have drafted a masterplan for the whole allocated area following collaboration with various landowners and stakeholders and a series of community consultation events in December 2018 and January 2019.

This masterplan has been submitted to the council and is awaiting adoption.

Alexis De Pol, managing director of De Pol Associates, said: “This outline application reflects the Great Eccleston Masterplan, which is itself in line with the Local Plan, and has been subject to extensive consultation with the community, landowners, stakeholders and the council.

“The application site incorporates a large portion of the masterplan area, and all of the major community facilities and amenities, making provision for a new school, a medical centre, community hall, convenience store and public open space, as well as up to 350 new homes.

“During the consultation we sought views on the proposed layout of the community facilities, and the response was that people would prefer they were grouped close together, and as near to the existing village centre as possible.

“This application reflects that and around 2.18 hectares will be set aside for this ‘community hub’ in the north east of the application site.”

He added: “The details such as the building designs, exact layout, boundaries, roads and access, would all be subject to future reserved matters applications, but it is important to establish the principle now to ensure the infrastructure is in place to benefit the village going forward.

“Another hectare of land is allocated for employment space, as per the Local Plan requirements, to the north west, and a further 3.1 hectares will be given over to green infrastructure throughout the site.”

The Wyre Local Plan, adopted in February 2019, has allocated a minimum of 568 new homes for Great Eccleston.

De Pol has already secured 183 homes for a site to the south of Copp Lane for Metacre, which are currently being developed by Rowland Homes.

Stephen Glenn, from Metacre, said: “This site has the potential to deliver an exciting mix of uses to benefit the local community and provide the much-needed new homes that Wyre has to deliver over the next 12 years.

“Together with our planning consultant we have worked closely with landowners, stakeholders and the local authority, and consulted with the local community, to develop a plan that will best serve residents now and in the future.”

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