Developers will need to get the OK from railway supremos if their plan to build 11 two-bedroom flats in Bletchley is given the go-ahead.
Network Rail needs to be assured any proposed digging does not shake the tracks too much, or spread rubble and dust that would contaminate its land.
“Excessive vibration caused by piling can damage railway structures and cause movement to the railway track as a result of the consolidation of track ballast,” said Diane Clarke, a town planning technician at Network Rail.
“The developer must demonstrate that the vibration does not exceed a peak particle velocity of 5mm/s at any structure or with respect to the rail track.”
She added: “The impact upon the railway is dependent upon the distance from the railway boundary of the piling equipment, the type of soil the development is being constructed upon and the level of vibration.”
Developers who have lodged the planning application for a disused car park next to Bletchley Working Men’s Club, in Chandos Place/Duncombe Street, have urged Milton Keynes council to grant permission for the “high quality” flats “without delay”.
The car park was sold by the working men’s club in 2015.
“The overall benefits of the site and the proposed development are such that it should be granted planning permission without delay,” architect Domenico Padalino, of Hertfordshire-based DPA (London) Ltd, says in his application to Milton Keynes Council.
Although the plan for the three-floor, brick-built block would reduce the number of car parking spaces, it would see the creation of 12 spaces for cycles.
Mr Padalino adds that even though the council has “sufficient land to meet its housing requirements up until 2026,” not all of these sites may be developed and the “supply of land and housing beyond this time scale is less certain”.
“This opportunity to provide 11 high quality flats on an existing town centre site should therefore not be allowed to pass by,” he adds.
This plan and others are open for public comment on the MK Council website.
