Larches House homes plans back on table despite previous rejection

A developer has launched a new bid to build houses in the historic gardens of a former Preston school – less than a year after their last attempt was thrown out by councillors.

Bamber Bridge-based Sapphire Construction Solutions wants permission to create 19 properties in the grounds of the Larches House building on Larches Lane – five fewer than in a previous proposal which was rejected last December.

Preston City Council’s planning committee dismissed that blueprint on the basis that some elements of it would cause “unacceptable harm” to the surroundings of the Grade II-listed premises.

Immediately after the decision, Sapphire Construction director Mick Patel told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he would “not be giving up” on his vision for the site. His company has already converted Larches House itself into officers and flats following its closure as a special school seven years ago.

As well as the 19 new homes – a mixture of terrace and semi-detached styles – the firm’s new application also proposes a retail unit with two apartments above it, and the demolition of an existing dwelling on the site, two pre-fab classrooms and a derelict garage. Four trees would have to be removed to accommodate the development.

Town hall planning officers last year concluded that the principle of developing the grounds was acceptable, even though some of the specifics resulted in the previous application being refused. That propsal was itself a reduction from an earlier iteration of the plans, which had featured 28 homes.

Part of the plot is designated as “green infrastructure” and, if the latest proposal is approved, the applicant could have to make a financial contribution to the improvement of the nearby Ashton Park to compensate for the loss within the Larches House grounds.

Documents submitted as part of the new application state that the new properties will be “broken down into smaller groups of houses interspersed with large amounts of open space”, in order to protect biodiversity.

It is also claimed that the layout of the proposed development – featuring a central spine road and private driveways – would allow “a large part of the site to be landscaped, giving an overall impression of openness throughout much of the site”.

Larches House was originally built in 1838 as a luxury residence before being converted into a special school in 1954.

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