Bellway has put forward detailed plans to remove derelict military hospital buildings on a site in the Staffordshire village of Hixon and provide 86 new homes and green open spaces.
The application for the 10-acre site off St Peters View was validated on Friday 13 March by Stafford Borough Council, which will now consult on the plans before making a decision.
The proposals involve the demolition of five Second World War buildings associated with the former RAF Hixon Military Hospital which are located in the eastern part of the site.
The new homes would include 60 two, three and four-bedroom houses for private sale and 26 affordable homes – a mix of one-bedroom maisonettes and two and three-bedroom houses.
There would also be three acres of green open space, including a new children’s play area with timber play equipment and natural features such as boulders and logs, a kickabout space, picnic benches, a community orchard, and footpaths and cycleways.
The application is a collaboration between Bellway’s Strategic Land team and its West Midlands division.
Chris O’Hanlon, Senior Planning Manager for Bellway, said:
“The evolution of our plans for this site in Hixon has involved close liaison with Stafford Borough Council and public consultation conducted with the local community last year.
“This project will deliver much-needed new housing for the area, including 30 per cent affordable housing for low-cost rent or shared ownership, helping local people to find homes which meet their needs in the village.
“Our design approach has very much been guided by the site’s rural setting in Staffordshire, with a landscape-led scheme which retains approximately a third of the land as green open space.
“Existing trees including a veteran oak tree will be retained and integrated into the scheme. Wildlife features, such as bat and bird boxes, log piles, hibernacula and insect hotels, alongside wildflower and grassland meadow, native planting and a new attenuation pond, will promote biodiversity.
“Materials have been carefully chosen for the new homes to complement those in the surrounding area, while the layout of the site has been designed to preserve views of nearby St Peter’s Church.”
The former RAF Hixon opened in 1942 as an Operational Training Unit, used for training fighter aircraft and larger aircraft. The now-derelict buildings which formed the airfield’s hospital are earmarked for demolition, comprising the main hospital block and annex, an air raid shelter, an ambulance garage/mortuary, and a picket post.
Bellway West Midlands is building homes across the region, including Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands. For more details, visit https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/west-midlands.