The original Flosh Meadows self build community at Cleator, Cumbria consists of five high quality detached family homes built in 2001. It is pleasing and supportive to the community and locality that in 2017 four of the original five self build families still live in the homes they built. The land owners & developers Betty & Richard Mulholland who live adjacent have applied within the Copeland Borough Council Local Development Plan to be permitted to further develop the community.
Betty & Richard are making no assumptions on future decisions; but within this website they wish to sound positive of gaining permission and will present reasons why such should be given. They fully appreciate and understand that the local planning authority decision makers and officers need to take a host of requirements into account before deciding on suitable new build sites for family homes. (2017 update: 2 parcels of land have been given planning permission)
Considerations (amongst many others) the planning authority will take into account are:
- does the area need regenerating
- would more homes help with the regeneration of the village
- is there a shortage of high specification homes in the area
- is there a shown wish for high quality homes in the village
- are families waiting to purchase
- is suitable safe land available for immediate development
- is there a variety of styles and specification on offer from developers
Why Flosh Meadows should be allowed to be further developed:
- April 2013 Copeland Borough Council recommended to Government Inspector that Flosh Meadows should be allowed to be further developed
- December 2013 Inspector agreed to Flosh Meadows extension and Copeland Borough Council formally adopted the decision
- Flosh Meadows has immediately available infrastructure to take additional properties N.B. foul sewage within the village is scheduled for improvement by United Utilities in 2014
- Cleator would benefit from regeneration, in 2008 the village post office and shop closed and in 2009 a public house closed
- it offers an immediately available shovel ready scheme which would increase the high specification & aspirational (Executive Homes) housing stock in Copeland
- investment in the Flosh Meadows family home development would assist local growth and provide increased skills training with a subsequent increase in employment.
- Flosh Meadows will offer high quality homes in an attractive supportive community that is served by public transport giving good access to employment, sporting, recreational, key service centres, churches, schools & other educational establishments.
Additional considerations:
- a number of prospective self builders wish to purchase plots at Flosh Meadows if they become available
- self builders are known to build high specifications homes
- Flosh Meadows is outside of the flood risk area and is immediately adjacent to the village boundary
- Flosh Meadows commenced with five self build family homes with relatives & friends in the immediate locality
- all families who originally built (2001) occupied their family homes until one sold in 2010
- Copeland Borough Council in the 2005 Local Plan recommended that Cleator should have 1 ha of land immediately adjacent to the A5086 at Cleator Mills for housing development to assist in the regeneration of the village.
- the land at Cleator Mills was forced to be withdrawn in late 2005 when the Environment Agency informed Copeland Borough Council that the land was situated in the highest flood risk zone 3A, the land was further confirmed to be in the highest risk flood zone 3A in 2006 & 2012 (update 2017 Small area close to A5086 road is now in 2nd highest flood zone 2)
- Copeland Borough Council subsequently stated that homes should not be built on a high risk flood zone and have further stated to government inspector in 2013 that the only homes allowed to be built in a high risk flood zone would be in Whitehaven
- increased problems are being experienced in obtaining affordable insurance for homes in the high risk flood zone 3 & 2 (flood zone 1 means that no flood risk applies), local MP Mr. Jamie Reed when in post publicly identified this matter
- Update 2015: permission was granted for homes on the highest risk flood zone !!
Decision makers at Copeland Borough Council are discussing & consider:
- Copeland Borough Council Local Development Framework working party are scheduled to consider ‘boundary change at North of Cleator’
- Copeland Borough Council considers “self builders provide high specification properties to housing stock”
- there is an acknowledged shortage of high specification homes within the authority