A FAMILY home could be built on land opposite Risley prison if the council gives its consent.

This is not the first time permission has been sought for the scheme, with fresh plans submitted to Warrington Borough Council following a previous refusal.

These new plans seek approval for the demolition of an existing building on the site and the erection of a single dwelling in its place, along with related infrastructure works and an improved access point.

The land on Warrington Road, opposite HM Prison Risley, currently has a mixed use for residential, kennels, office and a canine stud.

It is a previously developed site within the green belt, with the applicant wishing to build a home to ‘meet the specific needs of his extended family, and thereby cater for different generations’.

A pre-application submission was submitted in May 2023, with feedback stating that, in terms of green belt impact, the proposed building would be ‘significantly greater in volume than the existing’ structure.

Following this feedback, the design of the proposed dwelling was altered and reduced in scale.

An application was submitted in December 2023, but this was refused in May this year.

In reaching a decision, the council said: “The proposed development would result in a greater impact on the openness of the green belt than the existing development on the land.

“The proposal would therefore be inappropriate development that is by definition harmful to the green belt.

“Very special circumstances sufficient to outweigh this harm have not been demonstrated.”

Taking account of the comments from the previous application, the scheme has now been ‘completely redesigned’ and resubmitted.

It now incorporates a part single-storey, part two-storey dwelling, ‘allowing for sufficient space, while resulting in only a minor increase in volume of built form’.

The applicant states: “The proposal will replace the existing built form, and it is to be built generally within the position of the existing building, and will be screened from public view by established tree and hedgerow boundaries.

“As such, it is believed that the proposed dwelling will have no greater impact on the openness of the green belt than the existing development within the site.”