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Local Dean · West Cumbria

Well Head Farm in Dean could make way for 13 new houses, and none of them would be affordable Plan to replace Well Head Farm in Dean with 13 homes, none of them affordable

By Kris WM, editor 3 min read From planfind.co.uk
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Plan to replace Well Head Farm in Dean with 13 homes, none of them affordable
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A builder wants to knock down Well Head Farm in the middle of Dean and put up 13 houses and bungalows. They say they can't afford to include any affordable ones. You've got till 4 December to have your say.

If you live in Dean, or you've ever wondered why new builds round here are never the cheaper kind, have a look at this one.

John Swift Homes wants to knock down Well Head Farm on Shawbank Brow, right in the village, and build 13 homes in its place. The plans went in to Cumberland Council on 6 November under reference FUL/2026/0151. It'd be six three-bed detached bungalows, five big four-bed detached houses and a pair of three-bed semis, with 40 parking spaces on a site of about 1.1 hectares.

Here's the bit people will talk about: none of them would be affordable homes. The council's rules usually want one in five to be affordable on anything over 10 houses round here, but the builder's viability report says the sums don't add up if they do.

On the plus side, they'd keep one of the old stone barns and a big old sycamore, which would sit on a new village green that anyone could use, plus a water feature at the entrance made from the farm's old stone. Twelve of the homes would sit inside Dean's village boundary and one would poke outside it. An earlier plan for seven homes was pulled.

The farm's still going for now. Back in June the council said yes to moving it to a field on the edge of the village, and the new farm buildings were signed off in September. The farm's expected to move out in spring 2027.

What to do: search FUL/2026/0151 on Cumberland Council's "Search planning applications" page. You can read the plans, check the viability report and leave a comment, for or against. You've got until Friday 4 December.

John Swift Homes has applied to demolish Well Head Farm on Shawbank Brow in Dean and build 13 homes. A viability report says the scheme cannot include affordable housing. Comments are open until 4 December.

This is for people in Dean and the surrounding villages near Workington, and anyone interested in how new housing is planned in rural West Cumbria.

John Swift Homes Ltd has applied to Cumberland Council to demolish the farmhouse and farm buildings at Well Head Farm, on Shawbank Brow in Dean, and build 13 homes. The application, reference FUL/2026/0151, was submitted on 6 November. It proposes six detached three-bedroom bungalows, five detached four-bedroom houses and two three-bedroom semi-detached homes on the 1.1-hectare site, with 40 parking spaces.

None of the homes would be affordable housing. Local planning policy normally asks for 20 per cent affordable homes on schemes of more than 10 in the area, but a financial viability assessment submitted with the plans concludes the development cannot support any.

The plans keep one traditional barn and an ancient sycamore, which would stand in a publicly accessible village green. A water feature using reclaimed stone from the farm buildings is planned at the entrance. Twelve of the homes would be inside Dean's settlement boundary and one would extend beyond it. An earlier plan for seven homes on the site was withdrawn.

The farm is still working. In June the council granted outline permission, reference OUT/2025/0003, to move the farm to a field on the edge of Dean, and the details of the new farm buildings were approved in September. The planning statement says moving the farm away from the cramped village centre would bring "betterment", and the farm is expected to leave the current site in spring 2027.

What you can do: look up FUL/2026/0151 on Cumberland Council's "Search planning applications" page, where you can read the plans and the viability argument and leave a comment for or against. Comments are open until Friday 4 December. If affordability matters to you, the viability assessment is the document to look at.