ONE of the biggest housing applications Hereford has ever seen has been submitted – to build 1,200 new homes at Three Elms.

Outline planning permission is being sought by the Church Commissioners, the financial wing of the Church of England, to build 1,200 homes at Three Elms.

Herefordshire Council allocated the site – bordered by the A4103 Roman Road to the north and the A438 Kings Acre Road to the south – for a Sustainable Urban Expansion in its Herefordshire Core Strategy and the land is predominantly being used for agriculture, with the settlement of Huntington lying at the centre and the Yazor Brook running through the land.

A neighbourhood centre with a primary school, shops, health facilities and community facilities are also included within the application.

The proposed development would be accessed via three main junctions: Kings Acre Road, Roman Road, and Three Elms Road.

There will also be safeguarded land for the construction of an adjoining section of the proposed western Hereford bypass.

While the precise housing mix will depend upon market conditions and Herefordshire Council’s priorities in terms of affordable housing provision, the planners have released an indicative housing mix.

They propose 55 one-bed flats, 29 classed as affordable, 101 twobed flats with 55 affordable, 218 two-bed houses and 118 affordable, 226 three-bed houses and 122 affordable, 133 four-bed houses and 71 affordable, and 47 five-bed houses with 25 affordable.

The planners believe a decision on the application will be made early next year and, if permission is given, building is estimated to start in 2018-19.

The first phase would include up to 580 homes, supported from Three Elms Road and Roman Road without the need for an access from Kings Acre Road.

It would include the delivery of the neighbourhood centre, including the primary school.