Penwortham plans for 1,100 rural homes rejected by council

Councillor Paul Foster said it was a "flawed application"

Plans to build 1,100 homes in a rural part of Lancashire have been rejected.

Proposals to develop part of Pickering Farm in Penwortham were thrown out by South Ribble councillors over traffic concerns and absence of a "firm commitment" to build a link road.

The council leader branded them "catastrophic" as planning officers unanimously rejected housebuiler Taylor Wimpey and Homes England's plans.

A campaign group which opposed the plans said it was "over the moon".

South Ribble Council leader councillor Paul Foster told the Local Democracy Reporting Service it was a "flawed application".

"The infrastructure challenges [that] Penwortham, Lostock Hall, Farington and Leyland will experience if this was approved would be catastrophic - our community would be blighted for generations," the Labour councillor said.

Lancashire County Council's highways officials said it was dissatisfied with "all aspects" of the bid to develop on land off the A582 Penwortham Way.

This included the absence of a "firm commitment" to the completion of South Ribble's cross-borough link road to run across the site and connect with the A582.

Network Rail also raised concerns over not intending to alter the Bee Lane bridge over the West Coast mainline to provide a raised footpath for pedestrians despite an increase in vehicles using the road to access 40 of the proposed homes.

The county council and Network Rail was concerned for a lack of a footpath for pedestrians at Bee Lane bridge

Gary Halman, the agent for the applications, said the development was "fully consistent" with the council's own strategy.

He added it was "a high-quality, carefully conceived scheme" which would deliver "multiple benefits" for the borough, while Homes England said it was still "committed" to bringing the scheme forward.

Mike Bowe, from Keep Bee Lane Rural which opposed the plans, said the impact of traffic generated from the site would "generate severe delays to the local road network as well as "further damage poor local air quality".

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