The first development which will form part of Carlisle’s St Cuthbert’s Garden Village have been approved.
Northern Trust Land and Jennifer Workman applied for outline permission from Cumberland Council for the new development on land at Garlands Road and Cumwhinton Road, north of Speckled Wood.
The 7.52 hectare site, known locally as Bob Bell’s Field, is near Creighton Rugby Club.
It is part of the designated St Cuthbert’s Garden Village area, which will ultimately see 10,000 new homes built.
On Wednesday, a meeting of Cumberland Council’s planning committee were told that the developers were hoping to build more homes on a number of sites across the garden village area.
The garden village development was put forward by the then Carlisle City Council in 2015 to be developed over 30 to 40 years and include commercial properties, five new primary schools and a secondary school.
Members were told there were four objections to the Northern Trust application. People were concerned about road safety, flood risk and overdevelopment. There was also the view that the application was premature ahead of the garden village.
Nick Phillips, clerk of St Cuthbert Without Parish Council, said he lived in the area and knew the site very well adding that, working alongside the police, a speeding survey between February and May recorded 729 vehicles which were speeding in Garlands Road, with the highest speed clocked at 52mph.
The applicant’s agent said the estate would set the tone for high quality development in the area and four objections was an unusually low number for a development of its scale.
Cllr Roger Dobson (Corby and Hayton, Lib Dems) said: “This is the first step in the garden village which is an exciting development for us in Cumberland.
“It’s very important that we get it right and we start as we mean to go on.”
Cllr Bob Kelly (Millom, Lab) said: “We’ve now got something in front of us.”
Cllr Tony Markley (Solway Coast, Cons) proposed to follow the officer’s recommendation and approve the application.
He was seconded by Cllr Jimmy Grisdale (Seaton, Lab) and, when it was put to the vote, it was unanimously approved.
The application was recommended for approval subject to conditions including the provision of a minimum of 20 per cent of the dwellings as affordable – half of which for social or affordable rent and half of which for discounted sale.
In addition, the applicant will make a £10,000 contribution per dwelling in the light of the St Cuthbert’s Garden Village Infrastructure Delivery Plan, £9,000 for a speed limit order, £6,600 for the monitoring of the travel plan and a financial contribution towards the provision of 0.12 hectares of food growing/allotment space off the site, with the amount to be agreed.
