A PLANNING application has been submitted for an increase in the number of homes being built at a local development site by 300.
The proposals have been put forward for the plot at Arkall Farm on the border between Lichfield and Tamworth.
The scheme north of Ashby Road is the latest phase of the development, which began in 2021. A total of 315 properties are expected to be complete by the end of this year.
A planning statement said:
"The central objective of this outline planning application is to increase the total amount of residential development from the currently consented 1,000 dwellings to 1,300 dwellings.
"The new outline application replicates the extant outline approval with two exceptions – a small part of the land originally reserved and approved as such in the 2018 outline for a new primary school is now proposed for housing.
"This is due to the fact that the local education authority has confirmed it does not require the full area of land reserved for the new school, thus surplus land is available which can now be utilised for housing.
"A modest increase in density across parts of the Phase 4 housing area is also proposed beyond that indicated in the current outline approval, which will enable this part of the already consented housing area to yield further dwellings in this later phase.
"The net effect of these two changes is to provide scope for a further 300 homes to be developed. Importantly these revisions to the approved scheme are all within the boundaries of the existing approved site on land already committed to built development."
The planning application added that there was a clear requirement for additional housing across the area.
"In terms of an evidenced housing need, in Lichfield district the effect of the mandate from Government is to increase the previous adopted Local Plan housing requirement of 478 dwellings per year to 746 dwellings – an increase of 160%.
"The council is currently unable to demonstrate the minimum five years' deliverable supply. The current five-year supply is more than 1,000 homes short of the minimum requirement.
"In circumstances where there is a housing land shortfall as in Lichfield district, national policy is clear. In such circumstances housing development should be approved, unless the benefits would be substantially outweighed by any adverse effects. In this case there are no adverse effects which would 'substantially outweigh' the many benefits."
Full details can be found on Lichfield District Council's planning website.
