300 homes planned for old Rolls-Royce site
PLANS have been unveiled to build up to 301 homes on a former Rolls-Royce factory site in Birmingham.
Zebra Architects, on behalf of Homes England, has submitted a proposal to the city council for the development at Shaftmoor Lane in Hall Green.
Historically the 20-acre plot was occupied by the Joseph Lucas factory works, in particular the aerospace division.
However, the firm, and around 1,100 staff, were relocated to a new facility in Solihull in 2014.
Rolls-Royce, which set up on part of the site afterwards, has also since moved on and all factory buildings have since been demolished. The proposed development would include a mix of detached and semidetached houses as well as maisonettes and apartments.
It would feature an arterial road connecting Shaftmoor Lane and Spring Lane with side routes leading off it.
A public consultation event was held in June giving neighbours chance to view the plans.
Zebra stated that the ‘vast majority of comments were positive’.
They added: “Residents were generally glad to see the brownfield site be suggested for residential development as they felt that this would rejuvenate the local area.
“They particularly appreciated the emphasis placed on soft landscaping in both the masterplan and 3D on the day.
“It was also widely agreed that the quantity of housing shown on the site was fair and ensured sufficient living space for existing and new residents alike.
“The only reservations held by local residents were centred on highways; more specifically, the impact that any new development would have on Spring
visuals
displayed Road and Shaftmoor Lane, as well as that on parking spaces along Fox Hollies Road.”
The development proposes around 450 parking spaces in total providing at least one space per home.
A number of ‘constraints’ has been identified with the site including an ‘unsightly’ car park to the south as well as the nearby railway line which could cause noise pollution.
The application aims to get consent from the council to build in principle but the developers would have to submit a more detailed ‘reserved matters’ proposal at a later stage which would confirm the exact number of homes, final layout, proportion of affordable housing and how certain problems would be mitigated.