Site Location and Context
The site is around 4.1 hectares of mostly open grassland, located between Church Lane, Egg Lane, and St Peter’s View in Hixon. It sits on the edge of the existing village, close to local schools, shops, bus stops and community facilities. The land gently slopes down from north to south, with footpaths nearby providing easy walking access around the village.
In the southeast corner of the site, there are some old and unused buildings that were once part of a military hospital linked to RAF Hixon during the Second World War. Their historical importance will be recorded and if possible, elements of the buildings will be retained within the area of public open space.
Mature protected trees and hedgerows will be retained where possible.
Overall, the land is in a good location for new homes. It sits next to existing housing and is already partly developed, with the rest being green open space. There is a footpath running along the west side of the site (Public Footpath Hixon 2), and views of St Peter’s Church, which will be respected as part of the site layout.
Planning Policy
The site falls under the jurisdiction of Stafford Borough Council. The Council’s development plan consists of Stafford Borough Council Local Plan part 1 (adopted 2014), part 2, adopted in 2017 and the Hixon Neighbourhood Plan. The aim of the plan was to deliver 10,000 dwellings over the plan period within a settlement hierarchy – the majority of development being directed to Stafford, Stone and then to the 11 Key Service Villages – of which Hixon is one. Settlement boundaries were defined around most towns and villages, and the Hixon Neighbourhood plan confirms the settlement boundary for the village. As the development plan is over 5 years old, the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) (the national planning policy) advises that policies which are most important for determining the application are out of date.”
Footnote 8 of the NPPF clarifies that “out of date” also means in situations where the Local Planning Authority cannot demonstrate a 5 year supply of deliverable housing land.
The government has recently changed how it works out how many homes each area needs. Based on this new method, Stafford Borough now needs to build around 750 homes each year.
To help meet this target, the Council must show that it has enough land ready for new homes to be built over the next five years. Right now, Stafford only has enough land for about 3.5 years of house building. This means more land is needed for new homes.
Our proposals will help fill that gap by providing new housing in a well-connected part of Hixon. The new homes will include a mix of types and sizes, including affordable homes, to help local people stay in the area.
