Planning permission for 330 homes at Castle Green, UK takes effect

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On 2 November, the UK Department for Transport (DfT) lifted its holding direction on Warrington Council's approval of the 330-home Castle Green scheme, and the planning permission formally took effect on 15 October. The site, located at Thelwall Heys in south-east Warrington, covers 20.7 hectares (about 51 acres) and was previously mainly farmland; it has been released from the Green Belt in the Warrington Local Plan and allocated for residential development, with a minimum target of 300 homes.

The project is a full planning application (reference 2025/00444/FULM). Of the 330 homes, 99 are affordable, including 66 for affordable or social rent and 33 for affordable home ownership. The unit mix comprises 8 one-bedroom, 61 two-bedroom, 74 three-bedroom and 88 four-bedroom or larger homes, all two-storey, in types including terraced, semi-detached and detached houses. The scheme also includes new vehicle and pedestrian access from Cliff Lane, public open space with play facilities, landscaping, highway works and surface and foul water drainage infrastructure. About 30 acres are for residential development, with the remaining approximately 20 acres as public open space, including a buffer between the new homes and the Grade II listed Thelwall Heys at the centre of the site.

The DfT's intervention stemmed from the site's potential use in the route options for the Liverpool–Manchester rail link (part of Northern Powerhouse Rail). In January 2026, two days before the planning committee was due to consider the application, the Secretary of State issued a direction under Article 31 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015, preventing the grant of planning permission for six months; developer Bridgemere Group and Castle Green Homes had discussed a £60 million government land purchase proposal. The holding direction expired on 30 October and was lifted, allowing the council to formalise the planning committee's resolution to approve of 15 January 2026. The project team includes Shape Engineering, Escape Urbanists and Turley, with Turley providing planning consultancy and Escape Urbanists responsible for design.