TWO major plans involving the construction of up to 1,375 homes, shops, a hotel, medical centre and a residential care home come before Warrington planning chiefs next week.
One involves land at Omega South, and involves a new district centre, with 1,100 homes shops, hotel, etc while the second involves land bounded by Omega Boulevard and Lingley Green Avenue – the eastern section of Lingley Mere Business Park .
This proposes the demolition of all existing buildings on the site and redevelopment to provide up to 275 homes with landscaping, open space and the creation of a new access road into the business park.
Both are applications for outline planning permission with detailed matters reserved for later approval.
Members of the borough council’s development management committee will be told the site forms part of the wider Omega and Lingley Mere strategic proposal site.
Large scale logistics and distribution employment development has already been completed within the norther part of the site, north of the M62 and large scale distribution and manufacturing employment developments are taking place south of the motorway.
The south western part of the site comprises the existing Lingley Mere office development.
In effect, the proposal is for an urban extension of west Warrington and it is important to consider the applications in this wider context in order to ensure a sustainable balance of new homes, jobs, local services and infrastructure is achieved.
Twenty per cent of the 1,100 homes will be classed as “affordable.”
The new district centre will serve both proposals as well as existing residents of west Warrington.
The scheme includes a £5.7 million contribution towards the cost of the nearby new Barrow Hall Lane primary school and a £1.25 million contribution to a proposed upgrade to Junction 8 on the M62.
There will also be improvements to the local road network to cater for the increased population.
Planning officers are recommending both schemes be approved and point out the proposals are based on a master plan for Omega South approved by the borough council in 2014.
1 Comment
So out of 1,375 houses only 220 are going to be ‘affordable’, and will any of those be really affordable or social rented? Aren’t they now supposed to get the maximum ‘affordable’? 220 is nowhere near.
So why are planning officers recommending these plans be approved?
Also, I hope the planning board insist that the medical centre, primary school, road links etc. are completed BEFORE the housing or we might find that, as has happened before, such promises don’t materialise.
Perhaps a contribution to add a couple of extra wards to the hospital might be a good idea.