Developers behind a scheme to build 750 new homes on land in Lichfield say they hope the project will create a “positive lasting legacy”.

IM Land has confirmed it has agreed a deal with Redrow Midlands to build on the 100-acre site off Watery Lane at Curborough.

The development will also see provision for a new primary school, sports pitches and a new base for the Staffordshire Air Cadets.

Iain McArthur, director at IM Land said:

“It’s been a team effort both on IM Land’s part and in working with some of the region’s leading consultants and planners to get to this stage and arrive at a solution to deliver new homes on this site.

“This collaborative approach, liaising with the district council, local stakeholders, the community and the landowners has been instrumental in creating a scheme which has attracted a high-quality housebuilder committed to delivering our vision for a more sustainable future.

“Throughout the process, placemaking has always been at the forefront, creating opportunities to support and encourage the wellbeing of the community and leave a positive lasting legacy we can all be proud of.”

Iain McArthur, IM Land

Work is expected to begin on the site later this year, with showhomes expected to open in 2023.

It will include a mix of two to five bedroom houses, with just under a third earmarked as affordable properties.

Ben Marshalsay, from Fisher German who represented the landowners in the sale, said:

“We are extremely pleased to complete a deal with Redrow Homes.

“It will be an extremely positive development for Lichfield which will bring hundreds of new homes to the area and form part of a large-scale urban extension.

“It was the landowners who specifically selected Redrow Homes due to the high quality of houses produced by the company, and we now look forward to seeing the development come to fruition.”

Ben Marshalsay, Fisher German

The developers say the Curborough Countryside Centre, which is located on the development site, will be retained and enhanced as part of the plans.

A reserved matters planning application, which finalises the layout and exact number of homes on the site, is currently being finalised.

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Simon
1 year ago

To be fair Redrow Homes look more attractive than most other new builds. The houses being built in south Lichfield by Persimmon especially (to a lesser extent Taylor Wimpey) look awful. I can’t believe LDC are allowing developers to build around 1,000 homes there. It looks cramped and the houses are ugly.

George
1 year ago

Where’s the new GP practice? New secondary school? How do they think they can keep adding thousands of homes to Lichfield without any of these new facilities? Can somebody please explain to me?

peter
1 year ago

this new development must be stopped its not needed and there is no viable access. I despair at the way this beautiful city is being ruined by endless new circulating estates that local services cannot support. lets play i spy with a something beginning with g no its not grass

Mr Mr
1 year ago

“lasting legacy” yes no doubt it will !!!
Over crowded doctors
Over crowded dentists
More traffic and pollution
Well done everyone involved

Mr Green
1 year ago

Are the builders being made to install heat pumps and solar panels, in keeping with the climate targets of the LDC. No just more house to get more money.

Rose
1 year ago

Houses packed in like Sardines.. increase of Traffic. HS2 construction just around the Corner. Pigging Nightmare for Eastern Avenue which is already problematic…
Every bit of Green Space swallowed up at a massive rate. Totally unacceptable…

Raymond Noakes
1 year ago

The sheer bloody hypocrisy of Messrs McArthur and Marshalsay. Nothing to do with a positive legacy for Lichfield, because it certainly won’t be that. All to do with profit. If there is a positive aspect, at least our ‘planners’ refused this one only to be overruled by a planning inspector.

Curborough Rd Resident
1 year ago

Oh no !
Not another new build in our area, Eastern Avenue will probably have to bear the brunt of increased traffic. Terrific ! HS2 looms and possibly the proposed new Sports facility off Curborough Road will all contribute to worse traffic for us locals to contend with.

Ralph
1 year ago

No more new houses!!! There are not enough doctors, dentists or the road infastructure to cope with thousands more people being crammed into such a small city.

Simon
1 year ago

@Raymond Noakes, it wasn’t the Planning Inspector who allowed this one, amazingly it sided with LDC which speaks volumes. It was Sajid Javid, the then minister in charge who overruled everyone and decided this development should go ahead anyway despite all the issues involved simply because he wanted more houses built.

Gfi
1 year ago

I said 20 years ago Lichfield was going to become a sprawling conabation ,unable to support its residents due to abismal infrastructure planning ,supprised no not really I was never in any doubt .

Sarah
1 year ago

Honestly appalled at yet another new development for Lichfield seemingly with no thought for traffic, doctors, dentists, schools etc the town centre improvement still no further along. No facilities for young families no cinema or decent leisure facilities but more housing developments?? Yes no problem!! So upset at what’s happening to our beautiful city.

Dean
1 year ago

How is it at all positive, Lichfield has had the bowels ripped out of it, its overpopulated and the roads network is not upgraded to keep up with the amount of people. Keeping things modern doesnt mean ripping up greenspace, saddling young people with debt in some new overpriced bolthole which will soon lose value after purchase. Problem is it sounds like an im old man moaning but its so bloody true, Christ Church School, in 1990 walking home through park, down past safeway, past tuke and bell on weston road and up Swallow Croft, that route thankfully still exists lol 👍

Ian
1 year ago

The only positives from this are increased Council Tax revenues, developer turnover and profit, and the land owners profit.

The negatives are significantly more in number.

Why build houses outside a very busy and wide ring road?
Why build where local amenities cannot cope with existing demand, let alone the future demand from other developments?

The answer to those questions are simply due to the additional profit in new houses in ‘Lichfield’ for developers.

This is just creating sprawl around Lichfield without defined ‘village’ or area centres. These are not well designed developments. They are driven by profit.

Why only 33% affordable homes? I do not see how my children could possibly live in Lichfield as house prices are simply too high.

Lichfield is being destroyed as a pleasant place to live.

Alan Webster
1 year ago

No doctors. No dentists. No access. This development will generate an enormous amount of traffic on narrow country roads. Where will it go? Wood Lane or Eastern Avenue ?
It’s been said already, the only motive is profit.

A tearful resident of 30+ years
1 year ago

I would welcome someone in authority telling us all when they expect Lichfield to be considered FULL answers on a postcard please

Grumpy old Man
1 year ago

Have they made any provisions to improve the route under the low bridge in Watery Lane ? At the moment the only route for HGVs to access the site is via a narrow lane from the King’s Bromley road !!!! It’s only a few months since we’ve had problems along this route by the HS2 scandal ? And let’s NOT forget that the new residents will be overlooking the Curborough Sewage works and the Main Railway Line !!!! Not very appetising no matter how good the new houses will look ? SAD for the FUTURE ?

Roger Hazlewood
1 year ago

Lichfield is now been so over built. It’s terrible news for Lichfield. Good news for the greedy builders

Kab
1 year ago

Lichfield has been totally ruined these planners and developers dont care tho.its all about raking in more money.Can no body stop these people turning a once lovely city into a concrete jungle.where is the positive legacy they are stating.I am so angry about this.

Dee
1 year ago

I’m speechless I just can’t say how sad it is to see Lichfield being destroyed by all this endless building of housing estates, people are saying where are the leisure facilities, there have never been proper leisure facilities we the older generation of Lichfield had the regal & look what’s happened to that… but at least we had the surrounding country side, not Amy more …..just views of houses houses ,& more houses,where will it stop.

Raymond Noakes
1 year ago

@Simon, thanks for that. One to thank Javid for then. Whichever way up you throw it, we are witnessing the destruction of the green space surrounding our city. Don’t forget that yet another monstrosity is planned for Cricket Lane. Once it’s gone, that’s it.

Amanda
1 year ago

Ludicrous! Lichfield Bor and bred and can’t wait to move away from here. It’s losing so much charm. Why does money and profits ruin people. We simply haven’t got the facilities for another massive housing estate. I can think of nothing pleasing or positive about it all. So very sad!

Gary
1 year ago

From the numbers in the local plan, if you include the house building in Fradley, Lichfield will be almost 60% bigger by 2040. That’s insane. Growing 60% in the space of 20 years. The mind boggles. I don’t think the infrastructure and facilities here will have even improved by 5% in that time, let alone 60% to keep up.

Why can’t a group of independents stand to resist this? I’m sure we’d all vote for them!

Dave
1 year ago

City is getting bigger and bigger all got to go somewhere wy not Lichfield nice area the more the merrier

Mick etakir
1 year ago

Where. Does Lichfield end and shenstone begin?

Richard
1 year ago

Not sure why people on here are complaining. LDC don’t give a damn about your opinions on anything. They’ll do what they want, when they want. They don’t care about lack of schools, lack of doctors – all the councillors children will go to private schools and they’ll all have private health care. I imagine most don’t even live in Lichfield. Stop wasting your time moaning, it’s never going to make a difference.

A Drewe
1 year ago

Once again we are shown the ineffectiveness of every councillor. Yes they may have been overridden by the secretary of state, who probably had no idea where Lichfield was, but they failed to demand any long term compensatory measures for us citizens. How about they demanded the site provided a full leisure centre and preserve all other green spaces and parks for residents wellbeing, plus reducing the traffic speeds and congestion in the area exiting junctions? Forceful yet simple; but then they can’t even get a blue bag correct.

Gail
1 year ago

No more housing – PLEASE 😡

Henrietta
1 year ago

There is no talk of more doctors surgeries, how in earth are they going to cope?!!
And yes, it would be nice to hear why this is ‘so positive’ ??

Y.Schofield
1 year ago

What happened to being GREEN.PLANT TREES SAVE THE WILD LIFE,STOP THE POLLUTION, WE get bins and bags to do the right ✅️ thing. ,,What do the authority do?.Lay wast to the land for the sake of Mony…Lichfield people don’t get a look in.Shame on you Lichfield district council. God will judge you well ….

Jeanette Weddell
1 year ago

This building of new houses must be stopped Lichfield cannot cope with any more
We need doctors surgeries school’s in and a decent shopping center

Noddy
1 year ago

A “positive lasting legacy” How PATRONISING!!!!

Simon
1 year ago

I think people would have much less problem with the houses being built, if the houses formed part of sustainable communities, with doctor’s surgeries, dentists, schools (including secondary schools!), shops, post offices, road improvements, railway improvements and the like. You can’t just keep adding thousands of homes, sticking the odd sports pitch in there, and think that’s all fine.

I completely disagree with Richard, we do need to complain and make our voices heard. How else Richard do you think change happens? It only happens will people come together in force and make those that represent us listen. Your defeatist attitude does not help anyone. We all need to (i) contact Michael Gove (so the targets from central Government on local authorities like LDC are more realistic, and that proper investment is put into areas where major housebuilding is taking place so we get the proper infrastructure and facilities the growth demands) and (ii) contact Cllr Eadie and Cllr Pullen, so that locally they know we strongly oppose the direction they’re taking and they’re going to pay for it at the next election. We all need to do those two things to make a difference.

Geoff
1 year ago

Lichfield is rapidly becoming an overpopulated hole I can’t wait to move away from

Jessica
1 year ago

It’s sad to see Lichfield become more built up. We actually moved here two years ago for the beautiful scenery and because it’s a small, quiet location. We got fed up of living in a large city. It’s also sad that most of the houses won’t be affordable and that residents have little say over what happens. This is clearly driven by profit and does not consider the environment or local views. It’s a no from me.

Simon
1 year ago

I agree with all comments save for this obsession with so called “affordable housing”. Do you want all these massive estates to be full of social housing instead, increasing Lichfield’s deprivation? I certainly don’t. 33% is more than enough.

House prices in Lichfield are not that high compared to other desirable areas to live in, and are much lower than areas such as Sutton Coldfield for instance. If you think Lichfield is expensive look as places like Bath and Oxford!

Mike
1 year ago

LDC is a failing council. It’s failing in several fronts. It’s overbuilding. It’s not investing in infrastructure. It is not encouraging retail outlets to come to the city as the rents are too high. All of these three things together means at some point in the near future, the bubble will burst. I fear we are very near to that point now.

This policy of building on any piece of land is depressing, short sighted, and will eventually catch up with us.

Why can’t the council see this, too?

Biggus Dickus
1 year ago

Everyone does know we need houses right? Especially housing for low incomes. I don’t know why the council don’t go back to owning social housing. Bromford are raking it in while Lichfield council sorts out readily available Tennant’s for them.
More houses=more income from council tax, planning a secondary school would be under Staffordshire county council not Lichfield?.
The eastern avenue is due to have works anyway after 1 person died so I hope it’s tied into that aswell.

Yimby
1 year ago

Any of you lot who voted Tory over the last twelve years only have yourselves to blame for this. You enabled it.

Ben
1 year ago

I feel sick just thinking about the traffic and congestion that will end up flooding into Eastern Avenue… What a great legacy it will be indeed, at least walking around the area will lead to us getting high off the petrol fumes to offer brief periods of escapism from our surroundings.

Nick
1 year ago

We all live somewhere and for most of us that’s in a house built in the last 70 odd years. I can’t in all honesty get on a high horse and say that no one else can enjoy the choices and freedoms that I have.
We need new places built for people to live in and I think it’s better to locate them together where it minimises the impact on an existing community, rather than ad hoc all over the place.
If we don’t build then our children will be living with mum and dad for ever.

MadMike
1 year ago

In the middle of the worst energy crisis ever and the climate and ecological emergencies it is beyond credence that these folk can spout on about last legacy withour even mentioning a commitment to net zero or something very close. Beggars belief!

Ed Eaton
1 year ago

What is being overlooked is how these new build estates are not solving Lichfield’s housing problem, they are merely solving someone else’s. Ok, I admit, I live on one of these estates, but I am from Lichfield, went to secondary school here, and work here. On my estate, everyone I meet is from outside the area – Birmingham, Stafford, Uttoxeter, Nuneaton…and further afield…I’m not saying we should not welcome anyone from outside Lichfield, but at what cost? Why are the young of Lichfield still unable to buy reasonably priced homes here? The problem is never solved by building homes to attract people from outside the city……

Peter
1 year ago

Makes a change from putting Lichfield’s housing right up to the Tamworths border and giving others the pressures on services and roads..

Philip
1 year ago

The aspect that bothers me most is the lack of autonomy our council has. Why do we have local councils if they cannot oversee controlled development? Previous councils were able to maintain a sense of balance in both infrastructure and housing. Boley Park being a reasonable example. Subsequent developments offer nothing to existing citizens and stretch facilitates to breaking point.
If our local politics can always be trumped by higher powers then what point local politics?

Coral
1 year ago

How can you possibly be building more houses when there are so many empty new homes already? The high schools are over run with 250 kids a year the doctors are over run and you are lucky to get an appointment. There is nothing for our children that was promised like the cinema and bowling ally. I walk through town to see yet more shops shutting and disappearing shoe zone is next. And the houses no one can afford to buy due to having to travel out of town for work, lesuire and shopping, which with todays petrol prices cost an absolute fortune.

Jamie
1 year ago

The only +ve lasting legacy will be in their wallets, Lichfield is really going to the dumps. The difference just in the last decade is scary, roads terrible, service terrible, town looks terrible, more houses and people and nothing else…. I’ll stop now