A decision to allow 180 homes to be built in a West Cumbrian village should be overturned, said Workington’s MP.
Now, Mark Jenkinson has written to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to ask that the scheme is called in.
He said that the planning report said the nearby Workington Academy was oversubscribed, yet no education contribution was sought from the developer to pay for more school places.
The council policy is for 20% affordable housing, yet developers Story Homes have only been asked for 10%.
In his submission, Mr Jenkinson has also pointed out that the traffic assessments put before the panel dated from a quieter period during Covid, when many people were working from home, adding that updated figures should have been provided.
Reacting to the panel’s decision, he said: “Labour has a majority on the planning committee including Seaton’s councillor.
“Yet not one voted against 180 homes, a reduction in the affordable housing requirement and they agreed to seek no contribution whatsoever for new school places.
“It is Seaton, alongside Harrington, who already suffer from the council’s disastrous school places policy – and this will only exacerbate the problem.
“Local planning authorities should take a proactive approach to meeting this requirement, rather than simply waving things through.”
The land was placed into the Local Plan as a suitable site for development by the former Allerdale council, which was Conservative-led at the time of the last plan update.
