500 new homes plan on edge of Barrowford

A massive housing development could soon replace one of the most picturesque parts of the area.
The proposed site of the new homesThe proposed site of the new homes
The proposed site of the new homes

500 homes could be built on green fields stretching up from the Barrowford bypass to Wheatley Lane Road and across to the relatively new Wheatley Springs estate on the edge of Barrowford.

The “Masterplan” proposal, by Peel Investments (North) Ltd, is identified by the firm as Trough Laithe. It prompted an angry and worried response from people living in the area. The first residents heard about the plan was from a leaflet through the door.

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The land and property company says the area has already been singled out as a strategic housing site on the Local Plan in the “emerging Pendle Core Strategy”.

Peel Investments has not yet formally submitted a planning application to Pendle Council. It says it wants to consider local opinion before doing so.

In the leaflet sent to residents, Peel Investments make seven claims to say the 500-home site will benefit the area.

• An “uplift” in gross annual income of £9.5m from new employed residents

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• A £3.7m New Homes bonus to Pendle Council and £900,000 to Lancashire County Council

• A £860,000 increase in Council Tax revenue a year to Pendle Council

• It will attract and retain higher skilled workers by delivering much needed high quality family housing

• Up to 20% of the residential units to be affordable homes

• Creation of new jobs in construction

• Improvements to the local economy through increased consumer spending

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Peel Investments says the site is perfectly positioned, near Junction 13 of the M65, and Lancashire County Council has secured £1m. towards improvements at the junction.

Planners in Pendle assessing every building site in the borough say Trough Laithe could take 481 houses, 8.5% of the total housing needs or 16.7% of the annual need in Pendle. They base the figure on the site providing a minimum 50 houses a year against a target of 298, meaning that, should development go ahead, building could go on for nearly 10 years before the site is full.

Is this a great site for development or will it be a blot on the landscape? Have your say