A DECISION on plans for 105 homes on the site of a farm and former school has been delayed.  

Gleeson Homes wants to build the development at the Howbank Farm and former Orgill Infants School sites in Egremont.

Cumberland Council’s planning committee had been recommended to refuse the application ahead of a meeting held on January 31.

But additional information was submitted which planning officers will now consider before making a recommendation.

The application will go before the next meeting of the planning committee on March 13.

A planning report had cited a number of reasons to refuse the application including that it does not respond positively to the character of the site and the immediate and wider setting.

Egremont Town Council has welcomed the proposed development but raised concerns over increased traffic in an area where there is a primary school and a play park.

Elaine Woodburn, chair of Egremont Town Council, said she believes the houses are needed in Egremont.

She said: “I think Egremont needs more houses. There is a demand there. In particular, it would totally enhance the old Orgill Infants School site.

“No developer is going to build that many houses if they are not confident that people are going to buy them. We expect them to make further contributions to improvements needed in Egremont.

“We did have some concerns about the access. It’s already a busy road but if the council would look at making the school a 20mph zone that would be helpful.

“Egremont is the largest town next to one of the country’s biggest suppliers yet it doesn’t necessarily feel the benefits of that. Additional houses will mean more people, more spend and that’s got to be good for the town.”

A Gleeson Homes spokesperson said: "Having submitted our application for planning at Egremont in October 2020, we have engaged constructively with the local authority and gained strong support in the local area for our proposed scheme.

"This includes an investment of £12m, through the regeneration of brownfield land; the provision of 11 Affordable Homes in a part of Cumberland that has historically under delivered; £500,000 in S106 contributions to provide school places, public open space, play areas and sport pitches; and the delivery of 105 energy efficient homes which utilise air source heat pumps.

Unfortunately, due to changes outside of our control, and following our provision of further information, our application was not considered at last month’s planning committee and will instead be considered at a later date.

"We look forward to continuing to engage with the local authority and remain confident that the application will be recommended for approval.”

The proposed development would comprise: 16 two-bedroom homes; 65 three-bedroom properties; and 24 with four or more bedrooms.

There would be four bungalows and 101 two-storey semi-detached homes with a total of 10 per cent of the properties made available as affordable housing.

Proposed access to the How Bank Farm site would be via a newly formed junction and spinal highway connecting to Baybarrow Road.

Access to the Former Orgill School site comprises a combination of driveways fronting onto Chaucer Avenue and Croadalla Avenue and the creation of a shared surface access from Croadalla Avenue.