PLANNING permission is being sought for a development of 35 houses, 16 of which will be social housing, on unused land in Monk Bretton.
The 1.19 hectare site, currently predominantly grazing land, is bordered by residential properties on St Michael’s Avenue and Poulton Street its north-east side and Preston Way on the south-east, near to Carlton industrial estate.
It was marked for residential development in the council’s local plan and will be developed by Barnsley Council’s housing growth team.
The site is surrounded by land allocated as green space, with enclosed fields to the west and a public footpath running across its northern edge.
A public consultation event took place in June where local residents could discuss draft plans for the site, which led to the number of dwellings being reduced from the originally planned 37.
Residents also expressed concerns regarding the loss of existing trees and biodiversity, the proximity to neighbouring properties, access issues and disturbance during construction - all of which have been addressed in the current plans.
According to a statement submitted with the application, talks were ‘largely positive and proactive’, in particular regarding the mix of open market, council-rented and market-rented properties of different sizes.
The statement said: “The layout, scale, appearance and landscaping of the proposed development have been carefully considered and takes into account the site’s location, surrounding context, physical constraints and surrounding properties to achieve an attractive and sensitive form of development.”
The development will consist of a mix of semi-detached and terraced bungalows and houses, and a single apartment unit consisting of four dwellings over two floors.
This will include 16 properties marked as social housing, and six made available for private rental with Berneslai Homes acting as landlord.
Access will be from St Michael’s Avenue, where there is already a gate in place, with another road built to join onto Preston Way.
Parking will be provided on both the housing plots, and in unallocated spaces to the west of the site to minimise on-street parking.
Monk Bretton Coun Steve Green welcomed the development.
“We need more houses, full stop,” he said. “The population of Barnsley is rising and we’ve got to meet demand.
“We’ve known for some time they were looking at that site for housing.
“There’s a fair bit of social housing which is good.
“It puts money back into the council which can only benefit everyone else. Wherever houses are built it’s for the good of the town.”
The planning application will be discussed at the council’s full cabinet meeting on Wednesday January 8.
