There is hope for new affordable “family homes” opposite a Lidl as it's up for approval for the second time.
The proposal, put forward by Starship Group and Eden Planning, is for 13 homes on grazing land near Greenleas Close in Wallasey. However neighbours are against the idea over its location and potential impact on a nearby school.
Previous plans for 14 homes were rejected by councillors as one of the new houses was considered to be too close to an existing home. This was after the original proposal was reduced from 17 homes.
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Eden Planning previously said they’re confident the scheme will “provide long-lasting benefits to the local community” and Starship Group have said it would be 100% affordable.
Those against the homes including parents and teachers from the nearby Greenleas Primary School are concerned the new development would go against the School Streets scheme that aims to make the road safer there.
Sharon Edwards, headteacher at Greenleas Primary School, said the application which would see people living on the estate driving past the school "could hinder or entrap the progress to date of the past few months" at a planning committee meeting in March.
Wallasey councillors Ian Lewis and Lesley Rennie also criticised the scheme for its location and argued it goes against the council’s brownfield first development policy in its Local Plan.
At the March meeting, Rebecca Hilton from Eden Planning defended the plans, adding: "We know the area and are invested in the Wirral.” She said the scheme was deliverable and pointed to the need for 73 affordable homes in the area.
Recommending the new plans for approval, council officers said it would “make a positive contribution to the local setting, and efficiently help boost the supply of homes in the area, including 20% affordable housing with 100% likely to be delivered in practice.
“It proposes the development of 13 family homes, in a style and manner that is in keeping with the local character and vernacular. The proposed residential development is sustainably located, allowing easy access to local amenities, businesses and transport links. The proposals include a provision of native planting and landscaping to minimise the potential environmental impact of redeveloping the site.
“The proposed development is considered to be acceptable and it will not have an unacceptable adverse impact on the amenities of neighbouring properties through overlooking, poor outlook or through the amount of traffic generated or highway safety issues, subject to conditions.
“The application site is in a sustainable location close to shops and good public transport links. In addition to this, concerns regarding flood risk and surface water drainage have been overcome.”
Nicole Roe, from Eden Planning, previously said: "We have listened to the concerns raised by the local community and have worked with officers to address these issues.”
She added: "In terms of temporary construction traffic, we acknowledge there will be minor disruption during the construction phase. However, these homes will be factory built, meaning over 60% of the work activity will not actually take place at the development site, helping to keep disruption at a very low level.”
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