The 25ha site is located to the north of Streethay, adjacent to the recently built Streethay strategic development allocation, Roman Heights. It comprises a large open agricultural field bounded by hedgerow and trees.
There is existing residential development immediately to the south of the site, development associated with High Speed 2 (HS2) immediately to the north, and the A38 to the east. A Scheduled Monument and existing agricultural buildings also bound the site to the east.
The site is located outside the greenbelt and occupies a highly sustainable location on the edge of the settlement boundary of Streethay. The Lichfield District Council Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) has assessed the site as being “Suitable”, “Available” and “Achievable” for residential development within the next 6-10 years. As such the site was allocated for residential development in the now withdrawn submission draft of the Lichfield Local Plan Review.
The new Local Plan review will need to demonstrate that the district’s housing needs are being met and proposals by the Government to reform the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will see the number of homes that need to be delivered in the District increase significantly.
With the existing Local Plan now significantly out of date and housing targets increasing, and the site having been allocated for development in the withdrawn submission draft of the Plan review, Bloor Homes is beginning to process of preparing an outline planning application while continuing to promote the site through the restarted process of producing a new Local Plan. This will enable the early delivery of much-needed new homes at a site that has been acknowledged by the District Council as being suitable for this purpose, protecting sites that have been deemed less suitable in light of anticipated shortfalls in housing delivery numbers in the district under the new National Planning Policy Framework.
Local Plans are the key documents through which local planning authorities set out a vision and framework for the future development of the area, engaging with their communities in doing so. Local Plans address needs and opportunities in relation to housing, the local economy, community facilities and infrastructure. The Local Plan provides a degree of certainty for communities, businesses and investors, and a framework for guiding decisions on individual planning applications.
Local planning authorities, such as Lichfield District Council, have a statutory responsibility to maintain an up-to-date Local Plan, and national policy indicates that Local Plans should be regularly reviewed, with the expectation this is done at least every five years.
Lichfield District Council’s existing Local Plan was adopted in 2015 and is now considered significantly out of date. The Council is now carrying out a review of the Local Plan to produce a new plan and the site is being promoted for allocation in the review to contribute to housing need.
The new Local Plan will need to demonstrate that the district’s housing needs are being met and proposals by the Government to reform the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will see the number of homes that need to be delivered in the District increase significantly.
Bloor Homes is preparing an outline planning application for a landscape-led development of new homes and green open spaces. The proposed new neighbourhood could deliver:
- A landscape-led development providing up to 500 high quality homes in a range of styles and tenures to meet housing need in the district.
- Circa 50% of the site area would be provided as open space, including extensive landscaped public open space and habitat areas.
- Up to 28% of the new homes would be affordable homes, providing opportunities for key workers and people on low incomes to secure a home of their own.
- As part of the housing mix, there are opportunities to provide homes for people looking to downsize into more manageable homes or secure an accessible property.
- The retention of existing trees and hedgerows save for small areas requiring removal for drainage and highways, and enhanced by extensive additional planting.
- Extensive green public open space and habitat creation, boosting the biodiversity value of the site with scope to meet and where possible exceed local and national Biodiversity Net Gain requirements.
- A range of community open space facilities to be informed by local feedback, including play areas, boules courts, allotments, community orchards, areas of habitat and an ecology pond.
- Primary vehicular access from Thompson Way close to its junction with the A5127 and to the east of the existing Roman Heights development with the aim ofminimising traffic impacts during construction and upon completion.
- A network of walking and cycling routes through extensive green public open space on land that has previously been largely inaccessible to the public. The existing public rights of way to the south and west of the site will also be retained and enhanced to improve accessibility for the whole community.
- A sustainable and potentially gas-free development with all homes provided with measures such as PV cells, air source heat pumps, EV charging infrastructure, and very high levels of insulation and energy efficiency.
- Significant investment into local infrastructure such as healthcare, education and highways, informed by consultation with statutory bodies such as the NHS, the local education authority, highways authorities and others, secured via legal agreement.
- A site that has been identified as being suitable for residential development by Lichfield District Council in the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) and in the most recent submission draft of the Local Plan Review.
- Unlike other recent proposals in the district which have been brought forward by land promoters before being sold with planning permission, this is a housebuilder-led proposal which will be designed and delivered by Bloor Homes, a high-quality, five star rated, family-owned company.
We are proposing high-quality new homes that will be sustainably designed to achieve low carbon living. This will likely include a range of house types, from starter homes and adaptable homes for later living through to larger family homes.
An outline planning application is currently being prepared which will set out broad principles of development. Details such as layout and precise type of new homes would be established in subsequent Reserved Matters planning applications, which will be subject to further consultation with the community.
Up to 28% of the new homes will be affordable homes, providing an opportunity for key workers and people on low incomes to secure a home in Streethay. We are happy to discuss with the Local Authority the potential to apply Local Occupancy Criteria to affordable homes to ensure that people with local connections are prioritised.
This is a matter for the Local Authority. We are happy to discuss with the Local Authority the potential to apply Local Occupancy Criteria to affordable homes to ensure that people with local connections are prioritised.
All homes will be built in accordance with the latest version of the Building Regulations or the Future Homes Standards in place when construction commences, which both set ambitious construction and energy efficiency standards.
You can find out more about the approach that Bloor takes towards sustainability here: www.bloorhomes.com/buying-guide/sustainability
The vast majority of existing landscape features such as hedgerows and trees are located around the perimeter of the site and will be retained, with removals being minimised to that required to allow for highway and drainage infrastructure. This, alongside the creation and management of new landscape planting, trees and wetland features will provide new habitats and enhance the quality of the existing habitats - improving the biodiversity value of the site.
We are conscious of the ever-increasing importance of that ensuring development is sustainable, protecting and enhancing natural habitats and green infrastructure as much as possible whilst delivering much needed homes for people and families.
The proposals will see around 50% of the total site area dedicated to providing extensive areas of open space, including landscaped public open space, habitat areas and play areas. The proposals will be informed by an ecological survey and will seek to demonstrate Biodiversity Net Gain that meets and where possible exceeds local and national requirements.
The planning application being prepared is an outline application which sets out broad principles of development. Details such as layout and precise type of new homes would be established in a subsequent Reserved Matters planning application(s), which will be subject to further consultation with the community.
Bloor Homes has appointed a specialist consultant to undertake technical work relating to access and highways. It is intended that primary vehicular access would taken off Thompson Way at a point to the east of the existing Roman Heights neighbourhood, close to the junction with the A5127. This would provide direct access to and from the primary highways network without impacting on Roman Heights. The potential for secondary access onto Faraday Road facilitating access to local services is being explored, subject to discussions with local highways authority.
The traffic impacts of the development will be fully considered, assessed and mitigated as part of a comprehensive Transport Assessment to be submitted with the outline planning application. A pre-application consultation has already begun with the Local Highways Authority and National Highways to agree a strategy to ensure all required assessments are undertaken and a site access strategy agreed.
This work will include considering the impact of the increase in traffic arising from the development on the highway network, taking into account any other committed developments in the area (i.e. the cumulative impact). This is particularly important given current highways impacts in Streethay from ongoing developments and infrastructure works.
A Travel Plan will also be developed to promote sustainable modes of travel to and from the site There are a number of walking and cycling routes Roman Heights into the site providing excellent active travel links to nearby sport, recreation and open space uses as well as a newly delivered local centre in Roman Heights. The site also located within reasonable walking distance of local bus stops and Lichfield Trent Valley Railway Station.
Access for pedestrians and cyclists would be provided at a number of points in addition to the primary and secondary vehicular access points.
The development itself will incorporate a network of walking and cycling routes set amongst extensive landscaped open space.
TBC
The loop road within the proposed development is being designed to a standard that would enable it to accommodate a potential future bus route.
The site is currently largely comprised of improved agricultural land, which is of relatively low value in terms of biodiversity. The retention of existing trees and hedgerows, along with the planting of hundreds of new trees and other plants and the use of SuDS features to create new wetland features, will create new habitats, significantly boosting the biodiversity value of the site and delivering Biodiversity Net Gain that meets or exceeds local and national requirements.
Bloor Homes is signed up to the Homes for Nature programme which will see the installation of swift nesting boxes in every new home and hedgehog highways between gardens.
The site is located within Flood Zone 1 of the Environment Agency’s flood map for planning. This means it is considered to be at the lowest risk of fluvial flooding.
There are small areas to the fringes (associated with the Mare Brook) and within the centre of the site which possess a risk of surface water flooding. Flood risk from all other sources investigated has been deemed to be low. An ecology pond has been proposed to address the identified small area of surface water flood risk in the central area of the site as part of a wider central area of landscaped public open space and habitat. The ecology pond will not only mitigate against the risk of surface water flooding but will provide additional environmental benefits.
Any planning consents will include a condition for the agreement of a Construction Management Plan with the Local Authority to ensure that all construction is well managed and minimises its impact on the surrounding area.
With primary vehicular access coming directly from Thompson Way close to its junction with the A5127, it is intended at this stage that there will be no requirement for construction traffic movements through the Roman Heights neighbourhood.
We are acutely aware of the impact of recent developments and ongoing strategic infrastructure projects on residents in Streethay. We have designed our access proposals to ensure that no construction traffic will need to pass through Roman Heights. Please use this consultation to tell us about the impact of recent development on your community to help us plan to ensure that our development is delivered in a way that takes every step to ensure that further disruption is kept to an absolute minimum.
We are at an early stage in the process and have not yet submitted an outline planning application. We hope to submit an outline application in early 2025. This is likely to be determined by Lichfield District Council later in 2025. If the outline application is approved, we will then prepare a Reserved Matters planning application(s) setting out more detail of future phases of development, such as house types, landscaping proposals etc. This will be informed by further consultation with the community. Assuming the first Reserved Matters application is submitted later in 2025 or early 2026, it could be estimated that this would be determined by mid to late 2026, enabling work to potentially start later in 2026 at the earliest. However, this is an estimate and precise timescales are very much dependent on the planning system.
A key consideration with a planning proposal such as this is to ensure that local services receive the investment they need to accommodate housing growth in the local area. The development will generate significant investment into local infrastructure such as healthcare and education, and this will be informed by consultation carried out by Lichfield District Council with statutory bodies such as the NHS and local education authority and will be secured via legal agreement between Bloor Homes and the Council.
In addition to this direct investment into schools, healthcare, highways and other local services, the development will also provide Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) payments approaching £2 million.
Bloor Homes has created a dedicated website – www.bloorhomesstreethay.com - to provide an opportunity for members of the community to view our emerging plans and provide feedback on existing local issues and your priorities for new homes, open spaces and facilities in Streethay to help shape a development that meets the needs of the local community now and in the future.
Once we submit our outline planning application, there will be a further opportunity to provide input and comment through the Council’s statutory consultation on the submitted plans.
If outline planning permission is granted, we will then carry out further consultation on matters of detail such as architecture, detailed layout of homes, landscaping etc as we prepare a subsequent reserved matters planning application.
If you would like to be kept updated on this process and opportunities to take part in further engagement, please ensure you opt-in to receive email updates on the project when completing our online questionnaire.