The outline proposals

The site

The 15.08 ha is located on the eastern edge of Fradley, immediately east of Church Lane and on the northern side of Fradley lane, bounded to the east by the A38.

The site is currently predominantly in arable agricultural use and as such it performs poorly in terms of biodiversity. It is currently not accessible to the community apart from existing public right of way footpaths that cross the site. These will be retained and enhanced as part of the landscaped open space proposals for the site.

A plan showing the site’s location east of Church Lane and north of Fradley Lane - click to enlarge

Planning policy context

The site is located outside the greenbelt and occupies a highly sustainable location on the edge of the settlement boundary of Fradley. The Lichfield District Council Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) has assessed the site as being “Suitable”, “Available” and “Achievable” for residential development. As such the site is being promoted by Bloor Homes through the new Lichfield Local Plan to contribute to addressing housing need in the district.

A Local Plan is a document that sets out the vision for future development in a local authority area. Government requires that all local authorities have an up-to-date local plan in place and review it at least every five years.

Lichfield District Council’s existing Local Plan was adopted in 2015 and is now considered significantly out of date. The Council is now carrying out a review of the Local Plan to produce a new plan and the site is being promoted for allocation in the review to contribute to housing need alongside this planning application.

The Council has recently published their latest housing position statement for the District which confirms they can only demonstrate a 3.65 year supply of housing.

The Local Plan review will need to demonstrate that the district’s housing needs are being met and proposals by the Government to reform the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will see the number of homes that need to be delivered in the District increase significantly.

With the existing Local Plan now significantly out of date and housing targets increasing, Bloor Homes has submitted an outline planning application while continuing to promote the site through the new Local Plan. This will enable the early delivery of much-needed new homes in order to address the current shortfall in the District, at a site that has been acknowledged by the District Council as being suitable for this purpose.

An extract from Lichfield District Council’s Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment which identifies the Site (shown as 66 on the map) as being suitable, available and achievable for residential development - click to enlarge

Site constraints and opportunities

How local features and landscape have shaped our thinking for the proposed layout of the new neighbourhood.

In preparing the concept layout for the site, the technical team appointed by Bloor Homes first of all considered the landscape and biodiversity features, topography and local context of the area. The following plan shows some of the features and constraints that have informed the plans. Key features include important tree belts towards the south west of the site, public rights of way FRAD17, FRAD18 and FRAD19 which traverse the site, and the A38 to the east of the site which will require a noise buffer and land set aside for potential future slip road improvements.

A plan showing site features that need to be considered in preparing the concept layout for the site - click to enlarge

The emerging vision for high-quality homes, extensive public open spaces and community facilities

Bloor Homes has now submitted an outline planning application for a landscape-led development of new homes and green open spaces. The proposed new neighbourhood could deliver:

• A landscape-led development providing up to 230 high quality homes in a range of styles and tenures to meet local housing need, with circa 50% of the site area provided as open space, including extensive landscaped public open space and habitat areas.
• The proposed number of homes has been reduced by circa 50 homes following public consultation and ongoing site technical analysis. 
• A proportion of the homes will be affordable, providing opportunities for key workers and people on low incomes to secure a home of their own in Fradley. The number of affordable homes will be determined through consultation with Lichfield District Council.
• As part of the housing mix, there are opportunities to provide homes for people looking to downsize into more manageable homes or secure an accessible property.
• Retention of existing trees and the majority of hedgerows, enhanced by additional planting.
• Extensive green public open space and habitat creation, boosting the biodiversity value of the site to exceed both national and local level Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements.  
• A range of community open space facilities to be informed by local feedback and statutory consultation.
• Play facilities for young people, for which there is an identified need in Fradley. 
• A community building that could fulfil a range of uses and the potential to provide a community café or pub, to be informed by  discussions with commercial and community operators.
• A network of walking and cycling routes through extensive green public open space on land that has previously been largely inaccessible to the public. Existing public rights of way will also be retained and enhanced to improve accessibility for the whole community.
• A package of highways safety improvements, including a new roundabout and extension of the 30mph speed limit on Fradley Lane, widening of Fradley Lane on the approach to the junction with Church Lane, junction improvements where Fradley Lane meets Church Lane, provision of a bus stop on Church Lane, extensive walking and cycling infrastructure provision, and land safeguarded for any potential future improvements to the A38 slip road.
• A sustainable development delivering energy efficient homes that will be well insulated and include the use of renewable technologies such as PV cells and air source heat pumps, in addition to EV charging infrastructure.
• Significant investment into local infrastructure such as healthcare and education, informed by consultation with statutory bodies such as the NHS and local education authority and secured via legal agreement.
• A housebuilder-led proposal, which will be delivered by Bloor Homes, a five-star housebuilder.

Our concept masterplan for the landscape-led new neighbourhood in Fradley – click to open our interactive map

House types

The planning application is an outline planning application. This type of planning application sets out the broad principles of development, such as concept layout, infrastructure and access arrangements. Details such as house types, architecture etc would be subject to subsequent further planning application(s) (called Reserved Matters planning applications). This would involve further consultation with the community.

However, we have provided imagery of existing Bloor Homes developments on this website to provide an idea of the types of high-quality homes we build.

An example of an existing Bloor Homes development - click to enlarge

Sustainable homes

We want to deliver homes that are sustainable now and contribute to a cleaner, greener future.

We know that sustainability is hugely important to communities across the country, and we will work to ensure that the new homes we deliver for Fradley meet the very latest standards in sustainability.

We are proposing homes that consume less energy by using the latest materials and techniques to maximise insulation, air tightness and heat recovery, with the incorporation of PV cells (solar panels), creating an uplift in energy efficiency of 75-80%. There is also the potential that the new neighbourhood will be a gas-free neighbourhood, with all homes provided with airsource heatpumps as standard.

The new homes will incorporate sanitaryware and appliances that meet the highest water efficiency standards.

Electric vehicle (EV) charging points will be provided for all homes with on plot parking, together with access to communal EV charging points for the whole neighbourhood.

To minimise the impact of construction, we always aim to procure materials from sustainable sources and recycle construction waste as far as is possible.

We will be delivering a sustainable development with the potential to be gas-free with measures such as EV charging, PV cells, and air source heatpumps - click to enlarge

Investing in wider community infrastructure

A key consideration with a planning proposal such as this is to ensure that local services receive the investment they need to accommodate housing growth in the local area. The development will generate significant investment into local infrastructure such as healthcare and education, and this will be informed by consultation carried out by Lichfield District Council with statutory bodies such as the NHS and local education authority and will be secured via legal agreement between Bloor Homes and the Council.

In addition to this direct investment into schools, healthcare, highways and other local services, the development will also provide significant Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) payments..

The development will generate significant funding for key infrastructure such as healthcare and education, to be determined in consultation with bodies such as the NHS, local education authority, etc

Green infrastructure

We want to ensure that natural habitats are protected while we deliver new homes for people and families.

We are conscious of the ever-increasing importance of ensuring that development is sustainable, protecting and enhancing natural habitats and green infrastructure as much as possible whilst delivering much needed homes for people and families.

Alongside the delivery of much needed high quality new homes, the proposed development in Fradley will also see approximately 50% of the total site area retained as open space, including extensive landscaped public open space, providing public recreational opportunities on a site that is currently not accessible to the community apart from existing public right of way footpaths. This will deliver a significant benefit in terms of enhancing local open space provision.

There are existing tree belts within the site which will retained as part of the open space proposals, and these will be enhanced with extensive additional planting. The only removal of existing hedgerow will be limited to that needed to accommodate highway and drainage routes. There will also be extensive planting of new trees across the site.

A network of walking and cycling routes will be set within the extensive new public open space and there is scope to provide additional open space facilities such as play areas and areas of informal play.

The site is currently largely comprised of improved agricultural land, which is of relatively low value in terms of biodiversity. The retention of existing trees and the majority of hedgerows, along with the planting of hundreds of new trees and other plants and the use of SuDS features to create new wetland features, will create new habitats. This will significantly boost the biodiversity value of the site, delivering Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) in excess of both national and local level requirements. This means that the development will deliver at least 10% BNG above the baseline unit value, and at least 20% above the biodiversity unit value of any habitats lost, through the retention and enhancement of existing habitats.

Access and local highways improvements

Vehicular access to the proposed development will be taken from a new roundabout created on Fradley Lane to the southwest of the site. The new roundabout junction will create a new gateway to the village approaching from the A38 to the southeast and will help to control traffic speeds on Fradley Lane, a concern cited in recent Parish Council minutes. A speed limit change is proposed to the south of the proposed roundabout so that the posted speed limit is 30mph along the site frontage on Fradley Lane. The proposals will include the safeguarding of a parcel of land adjacent to the A38 which will provide the opportunity for the local highways authority and national highways to provide improvements to the junction with the A38 where the sliproad is currently suboptimal.

Access for pedestrians and cyclists would be provided at a number of points in addition to the primary vehicular access. A shared footway/cycleway will be provided along Fradley Lane to connect to the Church Lane/Fradley Lane junction. Uncontrolled crossings would be provided on Fradley Lane and Church Lane to enable connectivity to the main desire lines to the west of the site. A bus stop will also be provided on Church Lane which would enable local bus services to stop in close proximity to the site.

The layout of the Church Lane/Fradley Lane junction will be improved to provide a more conventional priority T-junction arrangement and improve pedestrian/cycle crossing facilities. The narrow section of Fradley Lane between the proposed roundabout and the junction of Church Lane will be widened to address local concerns.

The development itself would feature tree lined primary streets, off which secondary and tertiary streets would be located, as well as network of walking and cycling routes.

There are existing public rights of way running through the site, FRAD 17, FRAD18 and FRAD19. There are opportunities to enhance these rights of way, improving accessibility and providing connectivity into the extensive public open space and network of walking and cycling routes proposed within the site.

The sustainable location of the site facilitates easy access to the facilities of Fradley on foot or by bike, such as the school, youth and community centre, church.

The planning application has been informed by extensive technical studies, and includes a robust Transport Assessment. This report assesses highways safety and capacity of the surrounding highway network to ensure that the development can be safely accommodated. This will be reviewed and assessed by the local highways authority and National Highways during statutory consultation on the planning application.

Roundabout plan - click to enlarge