IN Brief:
- Vistry has secured final planning approval for 145 homes at Thorpe Willoughby near Selby.
- The plans include 72 homes for private sale and 73 affordable homes for social rent and shared ownership with Yorkshire Housing.
- Landscaped green corridors, public open space and dedicated play facilities form part of the approved scheme.
Vistry has secured final planning approval for 145 homes at Thorpe Willoughby near Selby, clearing the way for the housebuilder to prepare construction on land south of Leeds Road. The approved development comprises 72 Linden Homes properties for private sale and 73 affordable homes being delivered with Yorkshire Housing. Its residential layout also includes landscaped green corridors, public open space and dedicated play facilities.
Although the approved mix places just over half the homes in affordable tenure, Vistry has not said how many will be offered for social rent and how many through shared ownership. Those arrangements carry different requirements for ownership and occupation, with Yorkshire Housing working alongside the developer on the delivery and eventual transfer of the homes.
Outline permission previously established the principle of residential development for up to 145 dwellings on the Leeds Road land, including the principal access, while a later reserved matters application addressed appearance, scale, landscaping, layout and internal access. The final approval now takes the scheme through that planning sequence, allowing its consented buildings, open areas and infrastructure to form the basis of construction preparations.
With the overall layout determined at planning level, the delivery team can develop the more detailed arrangements needed for individual plots and their connecting services. The position of buildings and access routes influences the sequence of infrastructure works, as well as the space available for contractors and materials during construction. Technical drawings, relevant approvals and utility agreements will establish how those works are carried out; planning consent does not specify the equipment or method chosen for every operation.
Vistry expects construction to begin shortly, although it has not announced an exact start date or a completion programme for the 145 homes. Early site activity will need to establish appropriate access and working areas before the individual residential plots can be progressed in the order set by the developer. No confirmed construction contract value has been released, and the available project information does not support a particular phasing timetable.
The approved open spaces and landscaped corridors will be developed alongside the housing layout, providing recreational routes and play areas within the residential scheme. Their integration with roads and homes requires attention to levels, pedestrian access and surface water management, while the detailed engineering design has not been made public. Vistry also intends to retain existing boundary vegetation where practical and introduce further planting, making those landscape commitments relevant when temporary working areas are arranged.
Retaining trees and hedgerows can limit where contractors place compounds or establish haul routes, since roots and surrounding soil may need to be protected from excavation and vehicle loading. At Thorpe Willoughby, the extent of that protection will be determined by the approved landscape details and the plans adopted for construction. The published scheme includes planting and protection of boundary vegetation, although it provides no quantified tree retention figure or measured biodiversity outcome.
The roads and individual plots will depend on coordinated drainage, power and water connections, whose routes must work within the approved residential and open space layout. Installing and testing those systems in a suitable sequence allows homes to be connected as construction advances, but the developer has not named the relevant infrastructure contractors or specified drainage technologies. Such details will follow from the engineering and utility arrangements rather than the headline planning approval.
As the housing association takes responsibility for the affordable properties, inspections and transfer arrangements will need to align with the completion of the relevant homes and their access and utilities. Yorkshire Housing will be involved in the specification and acceptance of its accommodation, while Vistry manages construction across the wider site. The tenure arrangements sit within one residential development, but each completed property still needs to satisfy the requirements for its intended handover.
Properties intended for private sale will be delivered under Vistry’s Linden Homes brand, while the company expects the site to offer accommodation suited to different households. Detailed bedroom numbers, house type quantities and building services specifications have not been provided. The house type schedules will inform material procurement and the final coordination of building services across individual plots.
Planning records include a July 2026 decision on a deed of variation to the Section 106 agreement associated with the outline permission. The amended obligations may affect the arrangements governing development, but the executed terms would need to be examined before specific infrastructure payments or affordable housing conditions could be attributed to that decision. Vistry’s subsequent confirmation establishes final approval for the residential scheme without providing those details.
Vistry expects work to begin at Thorpe Willoughby after the final planning approval, with housing and shared outdoor areas to be delivered alongside roads and utility connections. The approved scheme provides 145 homes, the confirmed private and affordable tenure split, and the landscaped public spaces at the Leeds Road site. The developer has yet to confirm a completion date or final programme for the individual phases.
