Story Homes tables 350-home scheme after two former proposals were rejected due to concerns over the use of green belt land
Carlisle developer Story Homes has revived plans to build homes on the abandoned site of the former Camelot theme park in Chorley.
The firm has submitted pre-application documents to Chorley council for 350 homes on the site, almost double the number it proposed in a previous version of the scheme which was rejected over the use of green belt land.
The new proposals, which have been floated in the form of a request for a screening opinion on whether an environmental impact assessment would be required, come after the government relaxed rules on building on green belt land.
Story Homes said it intends to submit an outline application for the new homes plus a community hub, new infrastructure, parking, footpaths, landscaping and 鈥渁ssociated habitat creation鈥�.
The project team so far includes planning consultancy Asteer Planning.
Two former versions of the scheme have previously failed to win the support of the local council, a plan for 420 homes which was refused in 2014 and a scaled back 195-home plan which was thrown out in 2018.
Both applications were rejected primarily because they were deemed to be inappropriate development on green belt land.
However, the government updated the National Planning Policy Framework last year to include the new grey belt land class, which was defined as parts of the green belt which do 鈥渘ot strongly contribute鈥� to three of the defined green belt purposes.
This could include land which has previously been developed.
The Camelot theme park opened in 1983 and closed in 2012 due to declining visitor numbers. A report in 2019 found the 140-acre site could accommodate more than 6,000 homes.
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