Church of England wins planning for 1,000 homes in Lincoln

The Church of England has secured planning permission for a 1,087-home development on a 44ha site in Lincoln.

The development will be funded by the Church Commissioners for England, the body which manages the Church of England’s £10.3bn investment fund.

Designed by Leeds studio Architecture 519, the Bracebridge Heath development includes a residential care home, new transport links and public green spaces.  

A fifth of the housing under development will be affordable, with a mix of bungalows and two- to three-storey homes.

The site is adjacent to the recently completed Lincoln Eastern Bypass, which will receive a new cycle route connecting it to the development.

>> See also: The Church embarks on its affordable housing mission

New open sports facilities and play areas for children are included in the plans. It will also feature a sustainable urban drainage system to deal with surface water.

Bracebridge Heath will form part of the Church Commissioner’s plan to develop 30,000 new build homes on church land, of which 9,000 will be affordable.

The plan is in response to the publication of last year’s Coming Home report which called on the church to do more to address the housing crisis as part of its mission to help the poor.

The Church Commissioner recently submitted two other planning applications in Sussex: one at Barnham, for 1,250 new homes, and another at West Bersted, for 2,200 new homes.

Last year, the Church of England announced plans to set up a housing association to become a “major provider of social housing” nationally.