Public meeting planned to discuss controversial homes plan for Cliviger

The meeting will be held on Sunday, June 23rd, from 1 to 3pm in Cliviger Village Hall, over the plans, which if passed, would see 129 new houses built off Red Lees Road.

The Burnley Express revealed in April that plans had been submitted to Burnley Borough Council to build the homes on fields to the west of the road.

One Cliviger resident told the Express that everyone they had spoken to in the village were opposed to the plans.

They said: "This is a very cynical application to throw up so-called executive houses just to fill the council's coffers and abide by some government diktat. It was a very contentious site when it was first included in the Local Plan but the residents have not been listened to.

"A lot of villagers see this as a land grab. If this and similar schemes go ahead, Burnley and its surrounding villages will lose its integrity and just become a dormitory suburb of Manchester.

"The design is so poor that it's an absolute affront that they should attempt to desecrate our beautiful landscape in this way. It's laughable."

The resident also described the plans, which do not include affordable housing as "mean" and said that young and old people in the village could be excluded.

"It's incredibly mean to think that affordable housing is not needed in Cliviger. Not everyone will necessarily have the budgets to afford this kind of housing but may not want to stay in the village near to their relatives.

"I would urge everyone to come to the meeting and have their voices heard."

Described as a "prominent greenfield site in the open countryside", the site was identified for a large housing development in Burnley Borough Council’s Local Plan, and despite huge objections from residents, was ratified in 2017.

Details in the plan stated at the time that the site should be a mix of dwelling types, including a minimum of 40% four or more bedroomed detached and 30% three or more bedroomed detached or semi-detached houses.