Progress at last on 'stalled' estate of almost 300 homes in Penwortham

More than 270 homes will be built across the sprawling Penwortham Mills site – bounded by Leyland Road, Factory Lane and The Cawsey – which was previously occupied by the Vernon Carus factory.

The plot – part of which became home to a new Lidl store back in February – has been eyed for a residential estate since the late 2000s, shortly after Vernon Carus relocated.

Several proposals have been approved since then, but none has ever come to fruition – and the land has also changed hands on numerous occasions over the years.

In April, the site was acquired by Persimmon Homes and the housebuilder has now told a meeting of South Ribble Borough Council’s planning committee it is eager to bring the blueprint to life.

First, however, it needed the green light to tweak the design of the properties that will be built, to replace those approved under the most recent permission, granted by the committee in October 2022 to what was then the Trafford Housing Trust, later to become part of the L&Q Group.

Rachel Graham, senior land and planning manager for Persimmon in Lancashire, said the revised range for the first phase of the “stalled” estate reflected “the already approved arrangement as closely as possible”.

She added: “Persimmon are very keen to realise development and the delivery of family homes on…a brownfield [site] in the heart of South Ribble.”

Part of the access road to the development – from The Cawsey – has already been constructed alongside the Lidl branch, but currently leads nowhere.

The council’s planning manager, Catherine Thomas, told members there was “hardly any difference at all” in the overall shape of the initial phase.

The changes – which were approved without debate – relate to 49 of the homes within the first tranche of the development, for which full planning permission has already been granted. They will be made up of detached, semi-detached and terrace styles – and work on them is now expected to begin in the coming months. A similar revision will later be submitted for the remaining 68 properties within that phase.

The second and third phases only have outline permission currently granted for them, meaning applications for the details of house designs and layout would have been required in future regardless of the change of ownership of the site – and Persimmon says they will come forward in due course.

However, the firm is planning to build only 274 dwellings in all on Penwortham Mills – fewer than the up to 301 proposed in the application by Trafford Housing Group. In the first proposal for the location, back in 2008, as many as 450 properties were envisaged.

Twenty-five homes are already approved for a neighbouring site where the Sumpter Horse pub stood until its demolition in January.

Within the Penwortham Mills plot, the Lancashire Post understands 83 of the properties will be discounted ‘affordable homes’ – with 58 set to be offered for social rent, at around half of market rates, and 25 for ‘intermediate’ rental at a level somewhere between market and social prices.

In a statement issued after Persimmon Homes purchased the site, Andrew Laing, Lancashire land director for the company, said the newly-named ‘Mill Green Gardens’ development “will deliver a wide choice of homes for local people, including vital affordable housing”.

“We look forward to seeing the first stages of the development take shape later this year in a key market area for the Lancashire business.

“I’d like to thank L&Q and everyone involved in getting this deal over the line. We’ll now work closely with South Ribble Council and local residents to ensure the development delivers real benefits for the whole community.”