Plans for 194 new homes in Penrith are set to be given the go-ahead.
Members of the strategic planning committee for Westmorland and Furness Council are recommended to approve plans from Story Homes to build the homes on land between Inglewood Road and Centurion Rise.
According to planning documents the developers will be required to contribute £883,944 for secondary school places at nearby Ullswater Community College as the school is already oversubscribed and cannot readily accommodate more pupils.
The proposed development will consist of 12 two-bedroom properties, 50 three-bedroom properties, 92 four-bedroom houses and 40 five-bedroom properties. Twelve per cent will be affordable.
A design and access statement says: “The proposals as now submitted are the product of a long period of site promotion and consideration and more recently, design development and consultation focussed on the delivery of an appropriate, high quality layout and wider scheme.
“Story Homes are committed to the successful delivery of the land off Inglewood Road/Centurion Rise site, having carried out extensive studies, surveys, and assessments in order to develop a deliverable, efficient and sustainable solution for the site.”
The site is 9.3 hectares in size and planning documents propose two access points, one from the south through the existing Centurion Drive development off Salkeld Road and the other directly onto Inglewood Road.
Penrith Town Council have objected to the plans and have labelled the 12 per cent provision of affordable homes as disappointing.
The town council said: “The planning authority seeks the provision of 30 per cent affordable housing on developments unless it can be demonstrated in a viability assessment that the development would be unviable.
“On this site the developer has submitted a viability assessment proposing only 12 per cent affordable housing on site which is disappointing given a nearby site is 100 per cent affordable, and that the housing requirement in Penrith demonstrated by the housing needs assessment carried out in 2018 showed a clear need for affordable housing for local people.
“Full consideration has not been given to the impact on social facilities within Penrith. We already know that all dentists are full with people travelling as far away as Hexham for treatment and the doctors and schools are at capacity.”
Members of the strategic planning committee are recommended to approve the plans when they meet on March 20 at the County Hall in Kendal.
