Paul Basham Associates assisted Lioncourt Strategic Land and Lioncourt Homes with an outline planning application for up to 120 dwellings for a site in Rushwick Worcester.
The Proposal
An outline planning application for up to 120 dwellings with all matters except for access reserved, followed by a Reserved Matters planning application.
Our Approach
Having initially undertaken a site visit and reviewing options for a suitable access strategy, we entered into pre-application discussions with Worcestershire County Council in their role as the local highway authority. Given the proximity of the site to the A4440 and A44, early engagement was key and we were able to agree the principle of access and a suitable highway impact assessment. This enabled us to demonstrate the proposals would have a negligible impact on the capacity of the highway network as part of a Transport Assessment which was submitted to support an outline planning application.
An Accessibility Audit was also undertaken to support the planning application in order to assess the key walking and cycling routes to local amenities and bus routes and identify opportunities for offsite improvements to the local pedestrian and cycle network.
After an appeal for non-determination, we continued negotiations with the highway authority to agree suitable levels of financial contribution towards public transport improvements, as well as the extent and design of off-site pedestrian infrastructure.
A Statement of Common Ground resulted in the putative highways reason for refusal being withdrawn, and the scheme was allowed following a public inquiry on other matters.
We later provided highway support for a Reserved Matters application for Lioncourt Homes. This involved an in-depth review of the internal layout to ensure that all internal aspects of the site including visibility splays, road widths, bin carry distances and fire tender distances were appropriate and complied with Worcestershire’s Streetscape Design Guide. This was summarised in a Reserved Matters Transport Statement.
The Outcome
Following the successful appeal for the outline scheme the team were delighted to hear that the Reserved Matters application was granted permission having worked on the project for several years. The scheme is now built and welcoming residents.