Row over road access to new Preston housing estate

That was amongst the objections lodged to Redrow Homes' application to build 36 new properties as part of a wider development of over 300 dwellings in the area.

Preston City Council's planning committee granted permission for the scheme to the east of Tabley Lane - but several members expressed their own reservations about the creation of two separate entry points to the new plot.

The 23 detached properties on the estate will be accessed from Tabley Lane itself - requiring the removal of an existing mature hedgerow, which would be partially replaced.

The plan is a shift from a previous blueprint for development in the wider area - dating back almost a decade - which had indicated that the entrance to this portion of land would be taken solely from the East-West link road currently under construction.

That route will still provide access for the remaining 13 homes on the estate, 11 of which are categorised as "affordable" - but there will be no through route between the two sections of the development, other than for pedestrians and cyclists, in order to prevent rat-running.

Woodplumpton Parish Council objected to the revised road plans and committee member Susan Whittam said that nobody would be "particularly happy" with the solution.

Papers presented to the committee state that Redrow has lost control of land adjacent to the new Tabley Road roundabout - from where access via a new arm and the East-West link road was originally due to be created - resulting in the rethink.

Planning officers concluded that the new entry point would not have a severe impact on Tabley Lane - particularly given that it is already being used as the entrance to Redrow's neighbouring Tabley Green development of 233 homes.

However, committee member David Borrow said that the authority was "being played" over the proposal - but had little choice but to approve it.

"I'm not happy [that]...the developer has decided to put all the affordables at one end of the site access and all the posh properties at the other end, accessed from Tabley Lane - that is not in line with our approach to planning," Cllr Borrow said.

Planning officer Robert Major said that it would be difficult to "pepper pot" the affordable homes through the estate, because they comprise just one block of apartments and two terrace dwellings.

He also said that Redrow would have to submit a separate plan for how construction traffic would access the new development - and warned that it could be from Tabley Green, Tabley Lane or a mixture of the two.

Redrow Homes' planning director, Robin Buckley, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We’ve designed the new phase so that a number of homes can have access from the East-West link road and other properties will be accessed from Tabley Lane.

"We are currently working on a ‘construction environmental management plan’, which will be a condition of the planning permission and will specify routes for construction traffic."

The development will include a children's play area and Redrow will also have to make a financial contribution to the creation of nine new primary school places.

WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?

Outline planning permission for the wider site in this area of North West Preston was granted back in August 2013 - but it lapsed five years later before work on this particular section had begun.

Preston City Council's cabinet member for planning, Peter Moss, said that should serve as a reminder to the government - which is currently considering sweeping reform of the planning system - that delays in housebuilding were often down to developers, not local authorities.

"This [area] was granted outline permission for 330 dwellings on appeal - [Redrow] then had five years and nothing happened.

"So we'll be into 2022 [the point at which the newly-granted permission expires], when they were originally granted permission on appeal - which cost us a hell of a lot of money - in August 2013.

"The government need to realise where some of the issues lie in the planning process - and it isn't with planning committees," Cllr Moss told members.

Responding to the comments after the meeting, Redrow's Robin Buckley said: “After being granted outline planning permission for the wider development in 2013, Redrow obtained a detailed planning permission and purchased the first phase of development in December 2014.

"Development has proceeded on a phased basis since then. To date, about 190 homes have been built or are under construction at Tabley Green.

"We’re pleased that our homes have proved so popular in Fulwood and we look forward to delivering a further 36 properties to meet strong local demand.”