Planners reject Pendle new homes bid

They claim delays or weaknesses with approving a local plan combined with central government planning policies are leaving the borough council and local communities vulnerable to unsuitable applications by developers.

Councillors claimed the UK’s current planning system is "broken", with the odds weighed in favour of housing developers rather than communities. But they also heard that local plan votes taken when Pendle changed to Conservative political control a few years ago have since hampered its ability to plan properly.

Lancashire-based McDermott Homes wanted to build 67 new homes on fields west of Foster Road, near Gisburn Road in Barnoldswick. It sought planning permission from Pendle Borough Council for housing, car parking and landscape work.

But the application sparked numerous objections from Barnoldswick residents and councillors.

They fear the town’s attractive appearance, local footpaths and open space, road safety and drainage would be impacted badly and the housing scheme would be outside the formal ‘settlement boundaries’ of Barnoldswick.

At its latest meeting (August 19th), Pendle Council’s Policy & Resources Committee was told the fields near Foster Road were first earmarked as ‘reserved’ land for potential development in Pendle’s local plan back in 2014.

The borough council is required to maintain a five-year supply of development sites and McDermott Homes was entitled to apply for planning permission to develop the land.

However, a series of councillors and residents spoke against the planning application at the meeting.

Conservative Coun. Jenny Purcell, who is not on the committee, said: “I am a resident in the Gisburn Road area and see all the dangers there. There have been a series of accidents and we are waiting for a serious accident to happen. Someone will be killed before long.

“It is a single carriageway on both sides. Vision is poor from the exits and there are agricultural vehicles, cars, horses, cyclists and pedestrians all using the area. Last week, I saw a horse rearing up at a speeding car.

“The fields proposed for new homes are agricultural land. Once we loose that land for agriculture we will never get it back. We would be taking it away from our children and grandchildren.

“We cannot take any more houses. We don’t have the infrastructure or services such as extra doctors, new clinics and school places.”

Objector Neil Stephenson said existing levels of traffic and parked vehicles were already a problems. He said: “Ambulances and fire engines already have very great difficulty in the area. Nobody in this new development would take a bus or bike to visit Aldi to shop.”

Others spoke about the land being a hilly drumlin geological feature which deserved protection and that other land, such as a brownfield former mill site in Barnoldswick, should be redeveloped .

Resident Stephen Morrissey, of Foster Road, said nature had to be defended along with open spaces for people. He said: “We have seen deer, foxes, birds of prey, owls and hedgehogs in the fields. People also use the path for daily walks and it has lovely views."

Conservative Coun David Cockburn-Price said McDermott Homes had not created artist impression images showing how the Foster Road development might look. This, he claimed, was different from McDermott’s usual procedures with planning submissions.

He said: “That’s an important thing which is missing from this application. That’s because it (the development) would not look right on top of a hill. Visualisations are very important because they give a feel of what it would look like.”

However he said drainage or flooding issues elsewhere in Barnoldswick were not the responsibility of McDermott Homes. He added: “Locals need to get onto United Utilities and Lancashire County Council to sort that out.