Plans to build hundreds of houses on the edge of Blackpool are back on the table after proposals have stalled over many years.
Proposals for Whyndyke Garden Village on Preston New Road were first mooted as far back as 2011 with a vision set out for a ‘healthy living’ approach to the scheme for up to 1,400 new homes.
Outline planning permission was granted in 2015 but work has yet to begin on the 225-acre site. Four years ago a revised blueprint emerged, but work still failed to start with the land reverting to use for a car boot sale during the summer this year.
Now revised proposals have been submitted once more to Blackpool Council for the development, which also includes a primary school, community centres, a pub and a health centre.
Architects Cassidy and Ashton who have drawn up the proposals on behalf of applicant the Whyndyke Consortium, say high infrastructure costs continue to be the reason for delays.
Documents submitted with the latest application say: “The principal impediment to the site being taken forward has been the substantial upfront
infrastructure costs required prior to residential development taking place.”
They add: “The applications relate to the development known as Whyndyke Garden Village and seek to amend the approved masterplan, revise the phasing of highways and associated pre-commencement works, and simplify the implementation of the development in order to enable the development to progress.”
When the plans first emerged they were hailed as pioneering by putting lifestyle and health at the forefront of the development.
They included 350 two-bedroom, 700 three-bed, 280 four-bed and 70 five-bed properties on the northern part of the site along with a two-form primary school and two neighbourhood centres containing retail space, a health centre, a pub, a cafe, offices and a takeaway.
Concerns were raised over whether vehicle access points on Preston New Road and Mythop Road could cope with the extra traffic, but subsequent traffic counts suggested there would be enough capacity.
The latest application (reference 24/0551) will now go before council planners at a future date for consideration.
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