Approval recommended for Cumbrian housing scheme on former weapons site
Planning officers have recommended approval of a key multimillion-pound housing scheme and country park on a former Cumbrian weapons site.
Allerdale Borough Council will consider the proposal next week for the eco-based scheme which would be the first phase of the Derwent Forest project, involving more than 1,000 acres of the former Broughton Moor arms depot.
The site, between Cockermouth and Workington, has been closed to the public for more than 80 years.
The arms depot was opened in 1939 on the site of Buckhill Colliery. In 1944 the site was expanded from 800 to 1,050 acres.
The depot was used by the MOD until 1963 before being leased to the West German government. From 1977 it was used by the US Navy for the storage of armaments for its North Atlantic Squadron. From 1981 Broughton Moor was formally adopted as a NATO storage site.
The site was decommissioned at the end of the cold war, finally closing on December 31, 1992. More than 130 magazine buildings remain on site.
Developers aim to spend millions of pounds to remove the military fencing surrounding the site and in creating new cycle ways, paths, parkland and woodland.
Land polluted by the former military activities will be cleaned up to ‘exacting’ government standards and old mine shafts capped off and made safe. Further investment in the site’s bio-diversity is also planned.
The plan is to build 71 sustainable homes. Nigel Catterson, executive chairman of developer, Derwent Forest Development Consortium, said: “We’re aiming to open up the site’s facilities and natural resources as soon as practicable.
“The coast-to-coast cycle path is a nationally significant resource and brings with it activity and spending power and we’ll begin working on our link to it immediately, should our application be successful.
“We’ll also focus on the new footpaths and woodland trails and I’m looking forwards to seeing people enjoying them all.”
Amongst the facilities promised for this next stage of the project are:
- A new village green
- A 2.5km path and cycle way linked to the coast-to-coast route and National Route 71
- 15,000 new trees in a new 13-acre woodland to promote carbon capture
- A 1km woodland walk
- Watercourse improvements to the historic Flammiggs Gill
- A new multi-purpose visitor centre
- A new purpose-built early years facility at the nearby Broughton Academy
The homes offer high standards of sustainable design, says Mr Catterson. Independent traffic surveys show that only minor works will be required to the local road network and these have been agreed with the highway authority. Construction traffic will be routed through the site to avoid Great Broughton.
Dylan Jones, the scheme architect, said: “The site is blessed with lots of tarmac roads which were designed for military-grade heavy goods vehicles so we’ll be able to use these whilst we do all the heavy lifting around the site clean-up.”
More than 3,000 tonnes of contaminated waste will be removed during the initial phase of works, with proposals agreed with planners for the ongoing woodland and countryside management of the remainder of the estate.
Proposed village green
The houses will have very high standards of thermal efficiency and incorporate the latest energy-saving technologies. An electric vehicle charging network will be provided with each home.
The scheme’s wider masterplan includes scope for additional settlements, plus investment in new visitor attractions and amenities. Detailed planning permission would be sought for those aspects of the project at a future date, said Mr Catterson.
“This will be a key job creation aspect of our plans and will bring significant visitor spend into this quiet and lovely part of west Cumbria.”
Advisors on the scheme include architects Atelier 2 and global environmental engineers Tetra Tech. Development finance is being provided by Liverpool-based property funders Tower Grange Finance.
Allerdale Borough Council’s planning committee is due to hear the application on February 15.
