The plans, submitted by consultancy Turley on behalf of clients Gleeson Homes, would see 176 homes built on a 16.2-hectare greenfield site at Pontefract Road, Knottingley and a further 475 homes, commercial space and supporting infrastructure including a school on the same site.
A planning report into the outline approval said the council’s core strategy planning document defines Knottingley "as an Urban Area where new development should help to create a more coherent urban form which better serves the needs of the community".
It also "forms part of an allocated housing site within the adopted Site Specific Policies Local Plan".
However, the report said that planners had noted that the council’s regeneration team had "expressed concerns with regard to out of town retail".
"It is considered reasonable given the assessment undertaken and the concerns raised by the Spatial Policy team to condition the A1 retail space at the site to a maximum of 324 square metres net sales area and the A4 public house to maximum of 535 square metres gross, in order to protect the viability of the town centre. Therefore the total commercial area at the site will be limited to 859 square metres", the report said.
However, overall, the report said the principle of residential development of the site "meets with the relevant policy and guidance".
"The detailed design of the scheme is reserved for future consideration but it is considered that an appropriate design can be achieved that would provide a high standard of housing environment for future residents and that would protect the amenity of existing residents.
"The proposal is considered acceptable in terms of highways, drainage, ecology, contaminated land and security and complies with all relevant policy and guidance subject to suitably worded conditions", the report concluded.
Matthew Sheppard, director at Turley in Leeds, said: "This was a complex application for a scheme that will ultimately see 600 new homes on this site in Knottingley. These two permissions will go some way in helping Wakefield Council meet its housing requirements."
Turley said that work on the 176 homes will begin later this year, with the first homes due to be completed next year.