News

Planning for 700 homes in Scholes submitted in effort to boost economy by more than £110million

News / 26 March 2014

David Wilson Homes and GMI Developments have submitted an outline planning application for up to 700 new homes, a new primary school and an array of community facilities on land to the east of Scholes, seven miles north east of Leeds.

A public exhibition was held in Scholes Village Hall over two days in September 2013, and a website was launched which provided details of the consultation material and feedback forms. Consultation was also undertaken with Barwick and Scholes Parish Council and Officers at Leeds City Council.

If approved, the 700 dwelling development will create and sustain almost 100 direct construction jobs, produce £7m in New Homes Bonus payments to Leeds City Council and pave the way for significant inward private sector investment of more than £80million.

The commercial hub is proposed to include a new primary school, a number of small scale shops and services, a new GP surgery and possibly a small pharmacy.  The development would also provide 15% on-site affordable housing provision in order to meet the needs of local people.

In addition to delivering much needed housing, the scheme will also lead to the creation of new recreation and play areas, and provide cash support for nearby secondary education and improvements to the local road and transport network.

This development will produce significant benefits for Scholes and prove to be a major boost to the local economy.  We estimate the construction of the homes will create almost 100 full-time construction jobs and the knock-on effects will create and support over 145 jobs in the supply chain.

Leeds Council will receive £7m in New Homes Bonus, over £1m in council tax revenues and the development will boost the local economy to the tune of £11m a year.”

The Leeds Core Strategy Inspector has recently confirmed that the City Council need to deliver at least 70,000 homes or 4,375 homes a year over the period 2012 to 2028. The site to the east of Scholes is currently designated as a protected area of search and the Core Strategy Inspector has further confirmed that such areas will provide one of the prime sources for future housing allocations across the City.

The Inspector’s conclusions place a great emphasis on the need to release land for new homes immediately in order to meet the City’s housing needs, which is exactly what this planning application at Scholes seeks to do through the delivery of a range of housing providing opportunities for first time buyers, families and older people.

A series of technical assessments accompanied the application, which demonstrate that the scheme can be delivered without any adverse impact on the environment and other amenity considerations. The Environmental Statement includes chapters which consider the effects of the development on land use; socio-economic conditions; transport and highways; the local landscape; ecology and biodiversity; trees; flood risk and drainage; noise; air quality; cultural heritage and archaeology; and ground conditions.

David Wilson Homes and GMI Developments are also proposing to build a further 45 new homes on land to the West of Scholes and recently submitted an outline planning application.

JR Paley, the award-winning architects, has been commissioned for the development and NLP has advised on all planning applications.