Final plans for a housing estate to be constructed on a disused railway cutting are set to be decided this week, over five years after initial approval. The proposed development on Springfield Road, Kearsley, includes 36 houses along one cul-de-sac on the former railway line site, which runs adjacent to Kearsley Academy high school.
An outline application for the estate was rejected by Bolton council's planning committee in February 2019, but later approved on appeal by the planning inspectorate that same year. This week, Bolton's planning committee will review final plans regarding the design and layout of the homes, submitted by developers W.Maher and Sons Ltd.
An officer report due to be presented to the committee stated: "Access to the site will be provided via a new priority-controlled junction off Springfield Road. Each property has two car parking spaces, one of these spaces is at the front of each property and the second space is on the opposite side of the road."
The report also noted that additional planting would be added to the front of each property to prevent the street scene from being dominated by parking. It was further mentioned that if the application was approved, the developer would be required to contribute £142,000 towards the provision of an additional 8.35 primary school places and £147,000 towards secondary school places.
The council received nine letters of objection, highlighting worries about increased traffic and pollution, potential land contamination, noise from deliveries and construction, and questions over the land's stability. However, a report stated that all these issues were addressed under conditions on the outline consent, thus they were not pertinent to this week's application decision.
Bolton Council's landscape officer expressed concerns in a report that 'this site is/was a wildlife corridor'. She suggested that the developer establish a 'hedgehog street' through gardens by creating holes in the base boards of fences.
In later correspondence, the same officer deemed the development 'acceptable now'.
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