A MAJOR planning development in a West Cumbrian village will go ahead - after the department dropped the appeal which had been launched by the former Workington MP.

At a meeting on Wednesday, June 5, Cumberland Council planning committee confirmed that the decision to grant a Story Homes application for 180 new houses at Yearl Rise, Seaton would still stand.

The application was originally approved by the council in late April.

But in early May, former Workington MP Mark Jenkinson asked the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to 'call the application in' after what he described as 'possible planning contraventions' which he claimed 'should have been more robustly scrutinised'.

He acknowledged however that the threshold for a full ‘call in’ was very high.

Following this the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities directed the council not to grant planning permission for the application, whilst further scrutiny took place.

The Minister for Local Government, on behalf of the Secretary of State, considered requests to call in this planning application. But last week he decided to drop the call in and lift Article 31 holding direction which was preventing the granting of planning permission.

Seaton Resident, Emily Ashbridge who lives directly opposite the proposed development and has campaigned against it, has said she hopes that the developer will work with the village's residents to 'ensure the impact on the village is minimal'.

She said: "Although I am disappointed that the Secretary of State has withdrawn the call-in application request without further investigation, I am also not entirely shocked either.

"What I think what people will be most disappointed about is that further contributions from the developer have not been sought as part of the section 106 agreement - despite it being clearly documented that there is a lack of school places in the area as well as other issues.

"I am going to contact Story Homes to request that they arrange to meet residents to answer their questions and provide us with a timeline for work commencing.

"I sincerely hope Story Homes and Cumberland Council will work with the residents of Seaton to ensure the impact on the village is as minimal as possible, especially when there is another estate being built at Low Seaton at the same time."

Speaking about the application previously, a spokesperson for Story Homes said: “Our proposals have been carefully considered to address concerns relating to infrastructure capacity and highway safety.

"We have worked collaboratively with the relevant authorities to design proposals that will mitigate such concerns and will deliver benefits to the local community.

"The scheme will deliver highway improvements on Seaton Road as well as a travel plan, and will make an important contribution towards housing delivery, including the provision of 18 new affordable homes for local people.

"Areas of public open space, including an equipped area of play, will be delivered on-site which will be accessible to the local community.

“The homes will be energy efficient featuring electric vehicle charging points to each home and photovoltaic cells, and will be accompanied by attractive landscaped areas which will offer ecological and biodiversity enhancement."