Developer’s £600k for schools as 300-home estate approved

Persimmon has been granted planning permission for 311 new homes off Barnsley Road in West Melton and said construction was due to start in the coming weeks.

Just under a fifth of the planned properties will be housing association or council homes, with 20 more earmarked for first-time buyers purchasing at a discount price.

Persimmon has pledged financial contributions towards transport - including new bus shelters - and maintaining existing public play areas at West Melton Park and Bierlow Park.

A legal agreement means it will pay up £1.05 million, with over £600,000 going to local schools.

The developer said the homes on the new estate would have improved energy efficiency, including solar panel technology.

Mark Beevers, the firm’s senior land and planning manager, said: “We’re delighted that this development has taken another significant step forward.”