Plans for houses, retirement village and commercial properties at St Martin’s Park in Barnack Road, Stamford, approved by South Kesteven District Council

Three applications to build a total of more than 300 homes, a care home and offices on a derelict factory site in Stamford have been approved.

All the developments will be situated on land north of Barnack Road - a site now known as St Martin's Park, which was occupied by Cummins Generator Technologies until 2019.

The first application was put forward by Morris Homes and will see 167 homes built on the site. The second development by Inspire Villages consists of 150 residential apartments for people over 55 who require care.

A third development by Burghley Land Ltd seeks to build 23 residential homes, offices, a café and a convenience store.

South Kesteven District Council, which bought the brownfield site for £7.5 million and later secured outline planning permission for the mixed-use development, approved all three planning applications at a planning committee meeting yesterday (Thursday, July 3).

The land, which is 14.7 hectares, is on the south-east edge of Stamford and would see the existing factory premises demolished to make way for both of the developments.

The Morris Homes application is a mixture of affordable housing and market homes. They have been designed similarly to the Morris Homes development in Cecil Square in the town and will be built from ruble stone.

A combination of vertical railings, hedges and low-level walls will provide privacy and a boundary to each of the homes. Group planning and design director at Morris Homes, Gary Goodwin, told councillor all the homes will have accessible parking.

He added: “We have incorporated dedicated on-street parking. There’s enough parking for the households themselves and their visitors.”

Mr Goodwin said that Morris Homes had worked hard to ensure the development will serve the community. He said: “There is a central play area that forms the village green. The play equipment will be designed in conjunction with Burghley Estates so it has some reference to it as well.”

The applicant has had positive engagement with the district council. The development is also in line with the South Kesteven Local Plan and the Stamford Neighbourhood Plan.

Coun Helen Crawford (Con) said she was reassured that adequate parking had been planned for the site. She said: “I’m pleased to see that the homes will have garages that can actually fit a car in and there’s plenty of parking for visitors too.”

She added: “I like the design and I’m pleased that it’s environmentally friendly too. I’m quite happy to support this.”

Coun Gloria Johnson (Con) said: “I think it will be really good. It will be great for Stamford. All of the electric charging points will help put the development into the next century.”

The retirment village with specialists facilities for older people was also approved by the district council.

Planning manager at Inspire Villages, Ellen Pierce, said: “All of the apartments are accessible and adaptable as people age. There are facilities to add adaptation as people grow older and these are specifically designed for older people.”

She added: “We also provide a village transport service which is effectively a mini-bus to take people to wherever they would like to go.”

Ms Pierce said Inspire Villages will work with health and social care providers to ensure that older people get their care that they need. She said: “Residents can choose their own care with whatever party they wish. We would work with whatever party they choose to go with.

“Residents pay a service charge which covers the staff and support that they receive. This also covers the cost of the maintenance of the grounds and the people who care for him.”

Inspire Villages will operate a self-managed parking system in which residents can apply for a parking licence if they have a car. The developer will also provide mobility scooter charging points to support residents who struggle with their mobility.

Chairman Charmaine Morgan (Dem Ind) said she supported the development. She said: “We're in desperate need of this. We have an increasingly elderly population across the county, disproportionately so, and we’ve become a retirement area.

“It’s very much needed and is a scheme which includes care and carers. It’s nice to think that you’ve got the combination of other people. So, there are youngsters who could be mixing with older people as well.”

The third development will create the an employment area.

Principle planning officer at South Kesteven District Council, Adam Murray, said: "This is a very good, high-quality development. The developers have been looking at keeping the design in character with the rest of Stamford."

He added: "There are a lot of key themes between the sites and it's important that they work well together."

What do you think? Share your views in the comments below.