Plans for 200 homes set to be given the go-ahead

Final plans for 200 homes in a Staffordshire village are set to be decided next week.

Richborough Estates previously secured outline permission for the development at Baldwins Gate Farm last year, after successfully appealing a council decision to block the scheme.

More detailed proposals for the development - including layout, appearance and landscaping – have been recommended for approval by planning officers.

Twenty-five residents have objected to the plans, with most of them citing concerns over traffic, the impact on local amenities and the loss of green space.

But officers at Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council said that as those issues were not deemed sufficient to refuse planning permission at the outline stage, they “cannot be revisited now”.

The development plans show houses ranging in size from two to five bedrooms, and 50 of the properties will be classed as affordable - including affordable rent and shared ownership.

The plans also include allotments, a community orchard, a play trail and public open spaces.

Some existing farm buildings will be retained, as will a veteran oak tree, according to the plans.

One objector said the plans were not in keeping with the village, but more representative of an urban development.

He asked the council to insist on the inclusion of bungalows to match the “current property mix in the village”.

Members of the planning committee will consider the application when they meet on 8 October.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.