Plans for a new residential development to the south east of Wakefield are set to be revealed later this month.
Banks Property is preparing proposals for an 11-hectare development on land to the east of the B6273 Wakefield Road in Hemsworth which will include up to 260 high-quality homes of different sizes and types.
The project, which is being brought forward in line with the emerging Wakefield Local Plan, would also see a network of new cycle paths and footpaths being created, new wildlife habitats created to encourage local biodiversity and an electric vehicle charging point installed at every new home.
More than 2.7 hectares of public open space or around 25 percent of the total site area will be made available as part of the development, while routes to Vale Head Park and Hemsworth Water Park, which both sit to the north of the site, will be enhanced to improve access to these local leisure facilities.
Improvements to the parks including new footpath routes are being explored, while improvements would be made to the Station Road/B6273 Hemsworth town centre junction as part of the project, with new road markings and signals put in place to improve its operation.
If it goes ahead, more than 125 jobs would be directly supported during the development’s construction with a further 180 jobs indirectly supported by the project and a range of contract opportunities being made available to businesses in the surrounding area in line with Banks’ longstanding policy of using local suppliers wherever possible.
Banks Property will stage two surgeries in the coming weeks to introduce its plans to the local community and provide opportunities for residents and businesses to ask any questions and share their views about the proposals, with all feedback taken into account in the final planning application.
The appointment-only events will both take place at Hemsworth Community Centre, with the first to be held from 3pm to 7pm on Wednesday 30 August, and the second happening between the same times on Tuesday 5 September.
“There is a clear and increasingly pressing need across the UK to increase the available supply of quality homes, including in this popular part of West Yorkshire.”
A planning application is then expected to be finalised and submitted to Wakefield Council in the following weeks.
Part of The Banks Group, Banks Property has developed brownfield and greenfield land for commercial and residential property schemes across the north of England and Scotland using its ‘development with care’ approach for more than 35 years.
It has previously delivered successful property schemes in a range of locations across Yorkshire, including Harrogate, Sheffield and Leeds, and is currently progressing plans for a new sustainable extension to the village of Eggborough in North Yorkshire, which would include up to 1,500 energy efficient properties of all types.
Kate Culverhouse, community relations manager at the Banks Group, says: “There is a clear and increasingly pressing need across the UK to increase the available supply of quality homes, including in this popular part of West Yorkshire.
“We firmly believe that people should have the opportunity to stay in or move to the places where they wish to live, and that this is a wholly-suitable location for the high-quality development that we’re proposing to deliver.
“The site is close to local schools, shops and the town centre, well connected to local services and is a logical northern extension to the existing community.
“Our surgeries will enable local people and businesses to find out more about the work we’re looking to undertake, and to put ideas and questions forward which will help to inform the planning application that we’ll submit to Wakefield Council for review.”
For further information on Banks Property’s Hollins Bank proposals, to sign up for one of the project surgery events or to provide feedback online, please visit www.banksgroup.co.uk/hollinsbank
To contact the project team, please email hollinsbank@banksgroup.co.uk