A plan for a housing estate in Workington has been lodged with the council.

In an application submitted to Allerdale Borough Council, a vision for the development of a total of 16 dwellings at land north east of St Andrews Road in Stainburn was unveiled.

The plan outlines that the scheme will comprise of 3 terraced units, 4 semi-detached dwellings and 9 detached dwellings.

Vehicular access is direct from St. Andrews Road, which will serve the 16 plots.

The site has been unused, in a formal sense, for decades. The land has not been part of an agricultural unit for many years. Until recently it was owned by a family who have not resided in the local area for many years.

The previous owners did attempt to have the land allocated for residential development in the old Allerdale Local Plan which was adopted in 1999.

However, at that time, there was a serious barrier to development in the form of a "ransom strip". When the St. Andrew’s Road estate was developed in the 1970s the previous developer retained ownership of a strip of land at the end of the highway which acted as a “ransom strip”. It was subsequently found that this section of land was in the control of the Duchy of Lancaster.

The current owner is Tom Milburn, the applicant. He has negotiated with the Duchy to return the ownership of the strip to him, and he is purchasing the rest of the site from the original family owners.

In plans, Mr Milburn outlines that the development will fall in line with national and local policy, saying: "This proposal [...] will be expected to provide a quota of 20% of affordable dwellings. The applicant proposes to conform with this requirement."

Mr Milburn also contends that the amenity value and character of the site are limited and not such as to justify its retention in its undeveloped state.

He adds: "Stainburn is perhaps the most popular suburb of Workington in which to live, this proposal provides another opportunity to meet that demand in an acceptable and sustainable way."

Following a pre-application submitted in 2018, the council concluded: "It is [...] envisaged any future application will likely be recommended favourably."

You can view the application at: allerdale.gov.uk.

Use ref: out/2021/0015.