The 9.32ha site is located on the eastern side of the village of Coven, to the east of School Lane and at the rear of St Paul’s First School.
The site is bounded to the west, south and north by existing development, while the A449 Stafford Road provides the eastern boundary of the site. It therefore represents a sustainable and suitable location for sensitive residential development as a grey belt site.
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Bloor Homes is preparing an outline planning application for sensitive and sustainable residential development at Grange Farm, which would provide:
- Circa 145 high-quality family and affordable homes.
- 50% of the new homes would be classified as affordable housing in line with grey belt policy.
- There is the potential to provide accessible homes/bungalows as part of the housing mix if local feedback indicates a need.
- Community car parking facilities are proposed to provide improved access to village facilities.
- Extensive green public open spaces would be provided across the site, including:
- Green corridors linking a network of landscaped public greens
- Biodiversity areas
- Enhanced public rights of way
- Additional walking and cycling routes
- Community orchard and allotments
- Public common with play area
- The neighbourhood will incorporate a sustainable drainage scheme, with the potential to deliver improvements to existing local drainage.
- Existing mature trees and the majority of hedgerows will be retained, with additional planting significantly increasing tree cover across the site.
- The development will generate significant financial contributions to invest in local infrastructure such as healthcare, education etc. This will be determined in consultation with statutory bodies such as the local NHS Integrated Care Board, the Local Education Authority, Local Highways Authority, Lead Local Flood Authority, etc.
The site was previously promoted through the emerging South Staffordshire District Council Local Plan review. Since the Local Plan review process commenced, the new Labour government has introduced a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). This has increased the number of homes that need to be delivered in South Staffordshire from 223 to 651 new homes per year.
A new grey belt policy was introduced in the NPPF. This allows development in less significant areas of the green belt, provided certain criteria are met. Grey belt includes land that ‘does not strongly contribute’ to green belt purposes which are set out in the NPPF. The site a Grange Farm is surrounded by existing development to the north, west and south, and is enclosed from the open countryside by the A449 Stafford Road to the east. It therefore meets the criteria for grey belt land and is being brought forward for a sustainable infill residential development on this basis.
The new NPPF also requires that South Staffordshire District Council is able to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply. This is the amount of land that the Council must identify to ensure there are sufficient deliverable sites for residential development over the next five years. South Staffordshire District Council currently has 1.17 years housing land supply, leaving a significant shortfall. In light of this, an outline planning application for grey belt land at Grange Farm is now being brought forward to contribute to meeting this housing delivery shortfall at a sustainable, infill location.
An outline planning application sets out the broad principles of development, such as maximum number of homes, an illustrative layout and site access arrangements. Should outline planning permission be received, finer details such as specific house types, detailed layout, architecture etc would be subject to a subsequent further planning application (called a Reserved Matters planning application). This would involve further consultation with the community.
The planning application is an outline planning application. This type of planning application sets out the broad principles of development, such as maximum number of homes, an illustrative layout and site access arrangements. Should outline planning permission be received, finer details such as specific house types, detailed layout, architecture etc would be subject to a subsequent further planning application (called a Reserved Matters planning application). This would involve further consultation with the community.
As the site is being proposed for development as a grey belt site, 50% of the new homes would be classified as affordable homes in line with national policy. This will provide opportunities for those on lower incomes with connections to the local area to secure a home of their own. Affordable housing is anticipated to be provided in a mix of affordable rent and shared ownership homes, however this will be determined in consultation with South Staffordshire District Council’s Housing Team.
We are happy to work with South Staffordshire District Council for Local Occupancy Criteria to be applied to the affordable housing provision, ensuring that it is prioritised for people with local connections.
Bloor Homes does build bungalows and there is potential to provide bungalows at Coven should consultation feedback indicate a need.
We know that sustainability is hugely important to communities across the country. The new homes for Coven will be built to the Future Homes Standard, resulting in a neighbourhood of net zero carbon ready homes.
The neighbourhood will be gas-free, with all homes provided with air source heat pumps as standard. PV cells (solar panels) will also be incorporated, which along with the use of the latest materials and technique to maximise insulation, air tightness and heat recover, with create an uplift in energy efficiency of 75-80%.
The new homes will incorporate sanitaryware and appliances that meet the highest water efficiency standards.
Electric vehicle (EV) charging points will be provided for all homes with on plot parking, together with access to communal EV charging points for the whole neighbourhood. We are also happy to approach commercial operators with a view to the provision of EV charging at the proposed community car park if there is local demand.
To minimise the impact of construction, we always aim to procure materials from sustainable sources and recycle construction waste as far as is possible.
Existing mature trees and the majority of hedgerows on the site will be retained, with development parcels being shaped by existing field patterns. Additional landscape planting, street trees and orchards will significantly increase tree cover across the site.
The site is wholly located within flood zone 1 of the Environment Agency’s flood map for planning. This means that it is considered to be at the lowest risk of flooding from fluvial sources. There are areas of surface water flooding in the northern area of the site. No development is proposed in these areas and a sustainable drainage system (SuDS) will ensure that surface water is appropriately managed, with the potential to improve the current drainage situation locally.
The public rights of way crossing the site will be retained within landscaped green corridors, and enhanced to improve accessibility. Additional new walking and cycling routes will also be created within the neighbourhood.
There will be extensive areas of landscaped green public open space and biodiversity enhancement. Green corridors through the neighbourhood will link a network of greens, with a large public common being create on the School Lane frontage of the site, incorporating a children’s play area. Allotments and a community orchard will also be provided.
Outdoor recreation facilities including a play area, extensive green public open spaces, biodiversity areas, a community orchard and allotments are being provided. In addition, we are proposing the provision of community car parking facilities to improve access to nearby shops and village facilities.
The development will generate investment into local infrastructure such as healthcare and education, and this will be informed by consultation carried out by South Staffordshire District Council with statutory bodies such as the local NHS Integrated Care Board and Local Education Authority and will be secured via legal agreement between Bloor Homes and the Council.
We understand from initial local discussions that Coven had previously benefited from NHS branch surgery provision at the Memorial Hall, which was recently withdrawn. We have initiated discussions with the NHS Integrated Care Board to see if there is scope for our development to assist with the reinstatement of this or a similar service.
To ensure that the impact of construction is kept to a minimum, a Construction Management Plan is being prepared and will form part of the planning conditions of any outline planning permission.
Bloor Homes has created a dedicated website – www.bloorhomescoven.com - to provide an opportunity for members of the community to view our emerging plans and provide feedback. In addition, the content from this website will also be available to view at a public drop-in exhibition of the proposals which will be held as follows:
Venue: Coven Memorial Hall, Brewood Road, Coven, WV9 5DL
Date: Friday 16 May 2025
Time: Drop-in between 2pm and 6:45pm
Once we submit our outline planning application, there will be a further opportunity to provide input and comment through the South Staffordshire Council’s statutory consultation on the submitted plans.
If outline planning permission is granted, we will then carry out further consultation on matters of detail such as architecture, detailed layout of homes, landscaping etc as we prepare a subsequent reserved matters planning application.
If you would like to be kept updated on this process and opportunities to take part in further engagement, please ensure you opt-in to receive email updates on the project when completing our online questionnaire.