A multi-million-pound plan to create an eco-based housing development and country park in west Cumbria has been recommended for approval by planning officers.
If passed next week by the planning committee at Allerdale Borough Council the first phase of the Derwent Forest project will see work begin on the restoration and opening up of more than 1,000 acres of the former Broughton Moor arms depot.
The site, between Cockermouth and Workington, has been closed to the public for more than eighty years.
Millions of pounds will be invested in removing the military fencing that kept the site secure and in creating new cycle ways, paths, parkland and woodland.
Land polluted by the former military activities will be cleaned up to ‘exacting’ government standards and old mine shafts capped off and made safe. Further investment in the site’s bio-diversity is also planned.
Developers behind the proposals, which include plans for 71 sustainable homes, say it’s right that the public should see all the benefits of the wider scheme ‘up-front’.
“We’re aiming to open up the site’s facilities and natural resources as soon as practicable,” said Nigel Catterson, executive chairman of developers Derwent Forest Development Consortium Limited.
“The coast-to-coast cycle path is a nationally-significant resource and brings with it activity and spending power and we’ll begin working on our link to it immediately, should our application be successful. We’ll also focus on the new footpaths and woodland trails and I’m looking forwards to seeing people enjoying them all.”
Amongst the facilities promised for this next stage of the project are:
- A new village green
- A 2.5km path and cycle way linked to the coast-to-coast route and National Route 71
- 15,000 new trees in a new 13-acre woodland to promote carbon capture
- A 1km woodland walk
- Watercourse improvements to the historic Flammiggs Gill
- A new multi-purpose visitor centre
- A new purpose-built early-years facility at the nearby Broughton Academy
The layout of the proposed houses respects the rural setting and the homes offer high standards of sustainable design, says Mr Catterson. Traffic surveys by independent consultants show that only minor works will be required to the local road network and these have been agreed with the highway authority. Construction traffic will be routed through the site so as to avoid Great Broughton.
“The site is blessed with lots of tarmac roads which were designed for military-grade heavy goods vehicles so we’ll be able to use these whilst we do all the heavy-lifting around the site clean-up,” said scheme architect Dylan Jones.
More than 3,000 tonnes of contaminated waste will be removed during the initial phase of works, with proposals agreed with planners for the on-going woodland and countryside management of the remainder of the estate.
The houses will have very high standards of thermal efficiency and incorporate the latest energy-saving technologies. An electric vehicle charging network will be provided with each home.
The scheme’s wider masterplan includes scope for additional settlements, plus investment in new visitor attractions and amenities. Detailed planning permission would be sought for those aspects of the project at a future date, says Nigel Catterson.
“This will be a key job creation aspect of our plans and will bring significant visitor spend into this quiet and lovely part of west Cumbria,” said Mr Catterson.
Advisors on the scheme include architects Atelier 2 and global environmental engineers Tetra Tech. Development finance is being provided by Liverpool-based property funders Tower Grange Finance.
Allerdale Borough Council’s planning committee is due to hear the application on 15 February.
