Blackburn: MPs urge Gove to pause release of green belt land

Mohsin and Zuber Issa have submitted an outline planning application to develop the land

Two Conservative MPs have asked the government to look again at the release of protected green belt countryside.

Hyndburn MP Sara Britcliffe and Rossendale and Darwen MP Sir Jake Berry want Communities Secretary Michael Gove to pause the release of the 94 acres.

They say residents have highway safety and traffic fears over a proposed employment site close to the M65's Junction 5 near Guide and Belthorn.

Blackburn with Darwen council said the plans had been "rigorously inspected".

The development blueprint was adopted by Blackburn with Darwen last month.

Blackburn's billionaire Issa brothers' property arm Monte Blackburn Ltd has submitted an outline planning application to develop a new "Central 65" business park on 45 acres of the land creating 1,000 jobs.

The land was agreed for development up to 2037 at the borough's full council forum last month despite Jackie Copley from the CPRE Countryside Charity and resident Calista Mullin asking councillors to withdraw its release.

Now Miss Britcliffe and Sir Jake have asked Mr Gove to intervene and overrule the council's approval of that part of the wider blueprint which was endorsed by his planning inspectors last year.

The MPs' letter says: "There are concerns about the site where there are significant flaws in the council's Local Plan in relation to the release of green belt.

"We are supporting residents with their request that the release of the green belt be paused until the highway concerns regarding the B6232 Grane Road (the most dangerous road in Lancashire) are addressed and the capacity improvements at Junction 5 on the M65 have been completed.

The proposed employment site is close to the M65's Junction 5 near Guide and Belthorn

The letter from the MPs said that congestion in the area continued to be severe and the traffic in the village of Belthorn had reached unsustainable levels.

"Residents have argued throughout the process that the council's transport evidence base to support the local plan was flawed," the letter said.

It also provided details of a professional traffic survey commissioned by residents at the end of November 2023 which showed elevated numbers of vehicles using the B6232 Grane Road.

"National Highways is also asking for further modelling on Junction 5 roundabout to show that the improvement works will be enough to cope with the traffic generated," it said.

A spokeswoman for Blackburn with Darwen Council said: "The new Local Plan has been rigorously inspected by the government's planning inspectors.

"It's important to stress that National Highways made no objection to the overall soundness of the Local Plan, or any of the specific sites identified.

"There is a shared agreement that improvements are needed in the area around Junction 5 of the M65 and £20million has been secured through the government's levelling up fund to deliver those upgrades.

"The council's extensive transport evidence base was also scrutinised by the planning inspectors.

"The independent survey commissioned by residents was submitted after the final deadline but we still reviewed that data.

"We found that the survey was undertaken over just one day - November 30 - and major incidents that morning resulted in the A666 and A56 both being closed during peak periods causing major disruption.

"The community is welcome to submit further survey evidence as part of the ongoing consultation on the live outline planning application."

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