New council homes set for approval under £15m plan

A computer generated image reveals how three and four-storey flats proposed for Booth Street would look

A £15m plan to build 77 council homes on brownfield land in Stoke-on-Trent is recommended for approval.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council's planning committee meets on Wednesday to consider the scheme for cleared land on Booth Street.

The authority wants to create 57 flats and 20 houses to help address a 41% increase in people on the housing waiting list over the past year.

According to the planning officer's report, the principle of development on the site is "acceptable", with no significant adverse impacts identified.

The council currently has about 17,000 homes, but recent figures revealed 3,138 people on the waiting list.

The report states: "The principle of the proposed development here can be supported from both a national and local planning policy perspective.

"The scheme would deliver 77 much needed affordable units, [while] also bringing a disused council-owned brownfield site back into use."

It adds the residential amenities are "judged to be acceptable" and no highway safety concerns or environmental safety risks have been identified.

The houses would be a mix of one, two and three-bed properties with between one and two parking spaces, and the apartments spread over four separate blocks.

The 57 flats would have 42 parking spaces between them.

Planning officers noted the scheme included only "minimal" on-site public open space, which they said counted against the application.

They also raised concerns over the proposed buildings' "prevailing blank elevations".

But as the city council cannot demonstrate a five-year supply of housing land, neither issue is considered significant enough by officers to justify refusal.

Officers are recommending the council makes a financial contribution of £52,898 towards local healthcare infrastructure, £17,324 towards sports facilities and £40,000 towards an upgrade of Yeaman Street Park.