The technical consultants for a proposed development of 750 new homes in Lichfield have been confirmed.
It comes after a deal was been agreed to sell land off Watery Lane to builders Redrow Homes.
As part of the agreement, specialist consultants M-EC were brought in to look at aspects such as lighting, transport and drainage across the proposed development.
They also worked with local authorities, HS2, Network Rail and Severn Trent as part of the pre-planning role.
Director Alex Bennett said it had now been confirmed that the company would be retained as lead engineers by Redrow Homes for the next phase of the project.
“This is a great scheme to be involved in with great clients in IM Land and now Redrow Homes.
“I am looking forward to seeing it delivered and continuing to work with the wider consultancy team.”
Alex Bennett, M-EC
Work is expected to begin on the site later this year, with showhomes expected to open in 2023.
As well as new housing, the scheme will also create provision for a new primary school, sports pitches and base for the Staffordshire Air Cadets.
It’s just a free for all City now !!!! Our council couldn’t give a dame about the impact this continuous invasion of houses. Lichfield as we know it has gone and this great harm will never be repaired. No mention of secondly schools or doctors etc no mention of 100% affordable homes for Lichfield kids
Might as well give up
Why don’t we just build one big massive house that the whole population of Lichfield can fester in together?
As long as those new residents are made aware of the proximity of Curborough Sprint Course – in use since 1963 – and don’t go all NIMBY the moment the first engine fires up at 09:00 on a weekend..
The nearest Drs surgery to this development is Langton’s medical centre and as an existing patient of this practice and can only get an appointment by ringing up at 8-00am when the phone is permanently engaged God help us when 750 more households join this practice ? What are we to do for appointments ? Give up and go to the A&E at Samuel Johnson hospital ? NO planning will cure this apart from placing a new surgery amongst the new estate which will cover the new houses on the former Hepworth’s site and the Enots site as well ? Which must amount to about 1,000 houses which will be 2,000 adults + the children ? God help any sick person this side of Lichfield in the future ? Well done Lichfield Council !!!
We are getting over population in Tamworth from the Lichfield border(1 mile from Tamworth Town centre) all these extra home owners are having to use Tamworths Doctors surgery’s and dentists. All these extra people pay council tax to Lichfield & use Tamworths schools and facilities.
Build all the surgeries you want, there are no doctors. It’s a national problem caused by chronic under funding and devaluation of NHS workers.
Why oh why are they not building any infrastructure to cope with continuing expansion?! Build some schools, doctor’s, and amenities.
I’m no clever chappy but even I know if you want a healthy, well educated population don’t put all your live stock in the same pen.
We moved from Erdington to Lichfield, my husband worked in Lichfield and he said Lichfield is a nice little city , which it was , we are entering our 10th year and the changes I’ve seen are huge, what was once a lovely quaint city is now a busy over crowded place with new homes being built on every spare part of land , it is time Lichfield council put a stop on this and concentrate on the city itself, roads are atrocious in some areas and I hope that if they are building off watery lane they do something about that road as it will have more and more traffic going down it , so needs to be widened and a decent road instead of all the pot holes that are there. I live Eastern Avenue and am tired of coming home and finding no parking space outside of my home because idiots use the back of garages for free parking which are only for residents only , when I first moved here I could look out of my front bedroom window and yeah see Topps Tiles but beyond that we’re green fields now I see roof tops of houses and Eastern Avenue getting busier and busier
Stop building more new houses in Lichfield please ! No-one wants them, nobody asked for them !
Where is the infrastructure to cope with the additional homes?
Roads need improvement, we need additional medical facilities, we need a secondary school not just primary schools
Think about this, developments should be more than houses or old peoples flats
Sorry this is a done deal. The government overturned the Lichfield District Councils refusal. While the council might have some say on the affordability on the smaller houses, it has no say on their construction if they meet national standards.
Infrastructure is also a major worry for many developments around Lichfield. They might include a token play area but rarely anything substantial. The accumalative result of all these developments is that both the existing residents and the new ones struggle for schools and medical services. This is the councils responsibility (along with Staffordshire C.C.) but they are strangely silent on this issue.
These problems need addressing in a rational way. The extra population has not resulted in more city centre shop enterprises or the provision of more real job opportunities. Unbalanced communities are a recipe for future problems.
Guz…the trouble why there is a shortage of Doctors is that that many years ago the Labour Government gave them a massive pay rise so now Doctors only need to work a part of the week…
So glad Lichfield are building houses in Lichfield and not the Tamworth green belt. Lichfield has had all the income from the residents in Tamworth without them using Lichfield amenities for too long.
The population of Britain is growing enormously, mind you the land mass is not growing. Since the year 2000 Britain’s population has increased by 9 million to
68 million. This year there had already been an increase of 7,000 across the English Channel. So Lichfield must do our bit in housing these migrant families.
unbelievable more and more houses …thousands of them ..no school places …no Dr available ..nobody seems to listen to Lichfield residence ? I’ve decided to sell up and move away hopefully somewhere you can get a school place and maybe get a doctors appointment occasionally it’s sad l used to love living here but it’s enough now the council have ruined this once beautiful city ?
Irene, if you take the trouble to follow this link, then you might be better informed.
https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/workload/gp-working-hours-decreased-before-pandemic-hit-finds-official-workload-audit/
I noticed this past weekend that Headland Archaeology, one of the UK’s larger commercial archaeology firms, have set up a new compound off Netherstowe Lane, around the back of this proposed new development. It was too far from the HS2 route to be associated with the latter, so I assume that it’s pre-development archaeological work for the Watery Lane Lane development, which seems to touch on Netherstowe Lane as well. Commercial archaeology is essentially an extension of the construction industry, and an archaeological survey is usually necessary prior to development under planning regulations. It’s the surest sign that not only is this going ahead, but that the initial work necessary to allow it go ahead is already underway.
Please don’t take your anger out on the archaeologists, though, if you run into any. None of this is their fault, and they’re only doing their (woefully underpaid) job.
Come on lefties reply to Steve Morgan excellent post. Answers please.
Delighted to hear that the technical consultants for this eagerly awaited Javid-sanctioned development have been appointed, meaning that the day that we can all benefit from the lasting positive legacy that this will bring is a little closer.
Irene, obviously you are a daily mail reader. Doctors don’t work full time because it makes them ill. The job is unbearable and too much to handle full time. Take some time to look at the sacrifices medical students and junior doctors make. Take some time to look at the investment it costs to get through medical school, pay indemnity, cover exam fees, pay for registration fees, cover for travel and relocation costs for constant rotation of placements. Take some time to look at the pay of junior doctors and the cost to physical and mental health. Now, do the maths and rethink your daily-mail-tainted preconceptions. I can guarantee you are completely uninformed and unaware.
I mean imagine being run off your feet nearing burn-out trying to avoid being sued and vilified in the media, and then you get someone like Irene come in giving you zero respect banging on about her itchy teeth. Yer good luck getting an appointment.
Like everyone else says. We can’t get to see a doctor or dentist now without these houses. What about schools etc. The roads are disgraceful already third world quality. What happens to all the extra 2000+cars that comes with these extra houses? Who on earth OKs the plans and who are they answerable to? Certainly not the residents that’s for sure.
Blair’s open door policy now showing its consequences for real.
Belleview – Your question is best directed to those in power for the last 12 years. Ask them why they ripped up the Dublin Agreement.
The housing developments are partly the consequences of immigration. Most market size places in the Midlands do not have high concentrations of mixed cultures. Lichfield is a typical example of these integrated societies. Immigrants are largely attracted to large towns and cities; often with existing settlements of their country folk, and with job opportunities. There are plenty of examples of these too.
The knock on affect is that the indigenous population finds that their way of life is compromised to an extent that they feel the need to relocate. The needs of a multicultural society being far more complex regarding schooling, health provision and food provision. The communications through language diversity is also problematic.
This situation leads to a call for more housing, not locally but within commuting distance of work and other family and friends. As has been already said places like Lichfield are attractive in this sense. So we remain a predominately single culture society but with a massively reduced infrastructure and services that such rapid expansion has not been able to match.
I will add that I came here from Birmingham, no not to escape, but to follow my wife’s employment. My observations are that as generations evolve there is much more integration and sharing of cultures. The future for all our children is more optimistic in this regard.
Philip – You are quite right to talk of “partly the consequences of immigration.” Will you now address the other causes with equal prominence?
@ProffesorPineapple… Another major reason is government demands that councils build properties. The building industry are contributors to their party funds and it is a major employer. Ergo there is availability of properties some purchased by locals but mostly from people from local towns and cities. There is no reason why these shouldn’t be by any nationality but, for reasons stated in my previous post, they tend to be white British.
It is not my intention to justify, explain or condemn any aspect of the countries immigration policies. It is what it is regardless of any promises given from government. Indeed you might agree that such promises were instrumental in the Brexit decision. It is further impossible to have any discussion on this subject without it becoming abusive. The elephant in the room is the finite resources and ability to maintain endless expansion. I have seen no policies on that.
Philip – A considered reply, for which I thank you. More people are now living longer than they did before. Yes, there are areas of deprivation where this is not the case. One response to this is the building of ever more retirement complexes, as Lichfeldians know all too well.
Connected with this is the birth rate exceeding the death rate with its consequent need for extra housing.
There are increasingly more single households who require more and different housing. As society changes, so does the role of cities. The days of mass employment in factories have long gone with them the need for employees to live close4 to their work place. WFH has merely added to this.
As is so often the case, the need for housing is not equally spread throughout the country. There are many post-industrial areas where there is a surplus of housing stock. That the houses are there does not mean people want to live there. Much better a new build in Lichfield than Edwardian stock in a place that is much less desirable.
The above, and I make no claims to it being exhaustive, also asks questions about the purposes of city centres.
Perhaps an industrial strategy of taking workplaces to people might alleviate our situation.
You are quite right, there are many questions to answer.