The application would increase the maximum number of homes that can be proposed on the site from 1,000 to 1,300 homes, including both market and affordable homes.  No other changes to the approved scheme will be proposed.

To ensure the Council can properly consider the proposed additional homes in the context that they would form an integral part of the wider approved development, rather than as homes in isolation,  the application itself will therefore cover the parts of the Arkall Green site that have not yet been built - Phases 3 and 4. The description of development will provide for 985 homes across these phases – the 685 homes that already have planning permission but have not yet been built and the 300 homes that we are proposing in addition.

The only change to the scheme will be to increase the number of homes that can be delivered at Arkall Green by 300 homes – from 1,000 homes to 1,300 homes in total.

No other changes to the scheme are proposed - All of the community facilities, including community building, sports pitches and open spaces will not be affected and all will continue to be delivered as planned.

Since planning permission was first granted in 2018, national planning policy and the Council’s design guidance have changed. Current planning policy places greater emphasis on making the most efficient use of land while also delivering well-designed places.

The Council’s design guidance recognises that the later phases of the Arkall Green development could accommodate a greater number of homes than is currently permitted. However, the current planning permission currently sets a lower cap on density and so this application simply seeks to get approval to increase the maximum density of development in the residential parts of the site to align with what the Council’s own design guidance for the site provides for.

The Government sets a requirement for the number of homes that need to be delivered within the District over a five-year period - Lichfield District is currently falling behind this target.  Increasing the number of homes at Arkall Green could make an important contribution towards addressing this shortfall and to deliver those homes quickly and without the need to identify additional greenfield land - either at Arkall Green or elsewhere.

The application will be accompanied by a comprehensive package of updated technical assessments covering matters such as highways and transport, ecology, drainage, flood risk, landscape, environmental impacts and other planning considerations. These assessments allow the Council to fully consider the proposals against today's planning policies and technical standards before any decision is made. When the application is submitted, all of these documents will be available on the Council’s website.