500 more homes could be build on another town site

THE green light for the 190 homes at Branston Locks has been given as the prospect of work on another 500 homes for a different part of Burton could finally begin.

As reported in Tuesday’s Burton Mail, the homes are planned on 49 acres of fields on the edge of Burton, near Beam Hill.

A public consultation has been launched by Homes England for the development, six years after a similar application was approved – but the plans are now being re-thought after criticism of the original proposals.

Fine detail was ironed out when a “reserved matters” application was approved in 2018, but no work has started.

The application submitted by Staffordshire County Council was met with criticism and received letters of objection, claiming the homes would “ruin the character of the area”.

Now Government agency Homes England has made some tweaks to the previous plans – and intends to submit a new application in the summer, before finding suitable developers to start building.

The tweaks include a reconfigured layout including greater retention of hedges; the relocation of the “local centre”, featuring shops, to be more central to the wider community; the addition of a third site access from Harehedge Lane; joining the local centre with a community car park; and new pedestrian access to St Modwen’s Primary School.

If approved, a third of the homes will be classed as “affordable”, with specialist accommodation for the elderly also set to be included.

If the new application is approved, it is hoped construction will begin in spring 2023.