Building on our collaboration with McCarthy Stone Retirement Lifestyles Limited, Planning Potential secured planning permission in April 2025 for a new retirement living development located on the edge of Moor Park, a Grade II* Registered Park and Garden. The proposed development will result in the reuse of a brownfield site within the main urban area of Preston and would provide housing in a highly sustainable location.
Planning Potential led valuable pre-application discussions with the Council and undertook a community consultation exercise, writing to 312 neighbouring residents and businesses ahead of a formal planning submission in Summer 2024.
Throughout the planning process, we worked with the project team to respond to all Officer and Consultee comments, ensuring that all technical information was provided – particularly in response to highways, design and heritage objections. On highways and parking matters, we collaborated with the Transport Consultant to address all concerns and justify a reduced level of parking based on the nature and location of the development. We demonstrated that the existing infrastructure was accessible and sufficient to support the proposed scheme.
We also successfully overcame the Planning Officers objections to the initial design by advising on a more traditional appearance and amending the massing and design of the development to better reflect the character and appearance of the area and designated heritage assets. In response to the "less than substantial levels of harm" identified to the settings of the conservation area and Registered Park and Garden (RPG), we presented a robust case for the public benefits of the development. The public benefits were agreed to outweigh the low level of harm, and the proposal was therefore considered to comply with the relevant policies and the National Planning Policy Framework.
Summary of achievements:
- Preparation and submission of a comprehensive planning application
- Project management of the consultant team
- Negotiation / liaison with Local Planning Authority on heritage, design and highways matters
- Detailed discussions on conditions and negotiating away any S.106 Agreement.
