Cricket club aims to stump plan for 430 homes
A ROW is brewing over plans to build hundreds of homes on the former B&Q site in Trafford.
Lancashire County Cricket Club have objected to the proposals, filed by Accrue Capital, for 433 properties on the brownfield site at Great Stone Road, adjacent to the cricket ground.
Accrue insist that the development will bring ‘much needed’ new homes to the area.
But Lancs CCC say they are concerned an application has been submitted with ‘inadequate’ consultation and in advance of the council’s emerging masterplan.
The town hall plans to regenerate Trafford’s civic quarter, where the B&Q site sits alongside the cricket club, Bruntwood’s Lancastrian offices and the new UA92 campus.
“We cannot comment specifically on the application submitted as this detail is not a matter of public formal record yet,” said a Lancashire County Cricket Club spokesman.
“However, the pre-planning consultation was inadequate and insufficient time was spent consulting about how the development would impact the community prior to an application being made.”
The spokesman added: “However, we hope our previous concerns around inappropriate massing, height, access and acoustics have been reflected in the submitted application.”
Accrue say that a full public consultation, ‘lasting several weeks’, was undertaken and ‘the majority or respondents supported the idea’.
The firm plans to build a mix of one, two and three bed-homes, a public realm and ground-floor units designed for commercial or community uses.
The scheme will include blocks of flats up to 12 storeys high, overlooking the cricket ground.
A spokesman from Accrue Capital rejected the concerns and said its plans would provide ‘much needed’ new homes to the area by utilising a disused brownfield site.
“It is entirely wrong to say that we did not adequately consult in advance of the application,” they added.
“A full public consultation, lasting several weeks, was undertaken to encourage all local stakeholders to offer their views and input into the scheme. We were pleased that the majority of respondents supported the idea of residential development at the site.
“Furthermore, many of the suggestions which came back from the consultation were incorporated into our plans.”
The spokesman continued: “In relation to Lancashire Cricket Club – we have met with them on a number of occasions as part of our application process – our door remains very much open.”
The firm also said it had engaged with the council regarding the civic masterplan scheme – and its proposed development ‘complements’ the regeneration plans for the area.
A Trafford Council spokesman said the planning application is currently under consideration and will be determined by a planning committee in due course.