Housebuilders in Lancaster area granted extended construction hours to help catch up on delays

Some construction firms have been granted extended hours up to 7pm following temporary government easing of restrictions in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Wrenman Homes development in Halton.The Wrenman Homes development in Halton.
The Wrenman Homes development in Halton.

Developers of construction sites are able to seek approval for the temporary relaxation of construction working hours where they are controlled by a planning permission, such as a planning condition.

The government has said that local planning authorities should take a "swift and positive approach" to requests from developers and site operators for greater flexibility around construction site working hours.

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This is to ensure that, where appropriate, planning conditions are not a barrier to allowing developers the flexibility necessary to facilitate the safe operation of construction sites during the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to proceed at pace with work otherwise delayed as a result of COVID-19.

The Story Homes development in Halton.The Story Homes development in Halton.
The Story Homes development in Halton.

Lancaster City Council said it had granted two requests for extended hours of construction for sites in Halton and Bolton-le-Sands.

Work has continued at some sites across the district during the coronavirus lockdown, while others have stopped work.

A spokesman for Lancaster City Council, the district's planning authority, said: "Government has asked for requests to be dealt with within 10 working days and we are able to turn around informal requests within these timescales.

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"However, if the request requires a formal variation of condition application (to vary the condition associated with hours of construction work) then this would take much longer because it would require a statutory consultation period, a report to Committee and in some cases a legal agreement to tie any new consent (if the Committee resolve to approve the application) to the original consent."

There have been two requests to date.

These are:

Land to the rear of Forgewood Drive, Halton (Wrenman Homes)

New hours: 07:30 – 19:00 (previously: 08:00 - 18:00) Monday to Friday

New hours: 08:00 – 17:00 (previously: 08:00 – 14:00) Saturdays

No Sunday or Bank Holiday working permitted.

The extended construction/working hours are accepted on an informal basis up to 17 July 2020.

Co-op development, Bolton-le-Sands

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New Hours: 07:30am – 7.30pm (though works within a sealed building can occur up to 8pm i.e. with doors and windows shut) (previously: 8am – 6pm) Monday to Friday

8am – 6pm (previously: 8am – 2pm) Saturday

No Sunday or Bank Holiday working permitted.

The extended construction/working hours are accepted on an informal basis up to 30 June 2020.

Story Homes in Halton re-opened its construction site this week, and site teams will be carrying out a phased return, picking back up construction work.

A spokeswoman said: "We won’t be working any extra hours than we were before lockdown and the opening hours will remain the same."