A major housing estate in Carlisle to be built by city-headquartered Story Homes has been given the green light.

The company has been given permission to build 104 homes in the Hammonds Pond area of the city after submitting a revised layout to address some of the concerns, including fears that the affordable element had been concentrated into a “ghetto”.

The city council’s planning panel last considered the proposal in July but deferred their decision to allow the developers to disperse the cheaper and rental homes more evenly throughout the site, which they have now done.

But the panel heard that residents living in neighbouring areas still had several concerns including flood risk, housing density and privacy.

They also wanted to see some of the proposed homes rotated by 10 degrees to avoid the windows of the new estate directly overlooking those of existing homes.

But responding to concerns, planning officer Stephen Daniel said that “separation distances” between the houses “exceeded requirement”.

He also stressed that changing the alignment of the homes would have created an “odd” layout, “not really in keeping with the area”.

Objectors questioned whether the higher floor levels had been agreed as part of an earlier application for the same site, but planning chiefs insisted that they had.

The developer also came under fire for failure to carry out the ecological conditions attached to their original smaller-scale scheme of 89 homes.
Those opposed to the plans asked whether councillors should consider this fresh application before those obligations had been met.

And the meeting heard that one concerned resident had written to the authority to say developer which “deliberately ignores the council has, at some point got to be held to account.”

But planning chiefs told members that Story Homes had now employed a team of ecologists who had submitted plans for bird nesting boxes and bat roosts.
Coun Colin Glover, speaking as ward councillor, revealed that one man was so dissatisfied with the way the earlier application has been handled that he wished to pursue a complaint against the council.

He also said that residents were “naturally still anxious about the flooding problem”, adding: “Because Oaklands Drive has been flooded on more than one occasion, they are concerned whether what has been put in place will be satisfactory to protect their homes in the future.”

The developer has already installed a drain behind Oaklands Drive to reduce flood risk, the meeting heard.

And David Hayworth, representing Story Homes, insisted that the revised scheme had “satisfactorily” dealt with the concerns raised.

Coun Val Tarbitt said she understood residents’ concerns over window levels which she described as “an issue”.

“But I’m pleased the integrated housing has been addressed and that the affordable housing is spread around rather than being clustered or ghettoed into one part of the site,” she said.