Site In Barton Road

Barton Road, Hereford

This is a small site that the council have been seeking for some twelve years to dispose of and see used for affordable housing.

During the year we had positive feedback from our pre planning application regarding the site. In essence the planners’ response says:

a) The scheme is broadly acceptable: ‘… the type of housing proposed, being small one-bed, two-person units to meet identified local needs, is welcomed; and the sustainable location of the site, within the city and within easy reach of a wide range of facilities and services, would weigh in favour of the grant of planning permission.’
b) A no car scheme would seem to be acceptable, though we need to consider the issue of a delivery bay at the front of the site for couriers etc. This could add danger for cyclists crossing the old railway bridge, and there may be alternatives at the rear of the site that we could investigate.
c) Modern design is acceptable, though we need to consider the heritage of Barton Manor, a grade II listed building and its curtilage to the immediate east.
d) We would seem to need to do further work on the loss of the open space, which is said to be the key constraint.

But we also want to make this a ‘community’ project, not simply a useful and sustainable housing development by:

i) Carrying out a roughly 10-day community archaeology project on the site prior to development.
ii) Involving members of HCLT in the process where we can.

iii) Aiming to select early those who will live in the homes so that they can both be trained in the building of the units and also work together to manage the open space around the homes.

The council then needed to review their decision of several years ago that they would sell the site for £1 if it were to be used to provide affordable housing.

Once that had been reconfirmed we entered negotiations with the council on the conditions, such as obtaining full planning permission, that we would need to meet to permit the Council to sell us the land.

Though we tried our best to have this contract in place before the Council elections in May we did not succeed due to the snail pace at which the Council can work. The elections led to a change in political control of the Council, meaning that they will review the project.

We have been told that we may not hear the outcome of the review till towards the end of the year, potentially some 7 months after the elections were held!

Until we hear the result of the review, we can make no further progress on the project.

Barton Road Site Layout Plan & Location