107 homes planned for old mill site
PLANS to build 107 homes at the site of a former mill in the Valley have been submitted to Rossendale Council.
Allied Textiles Ltd, who own the site of the former Reedsholme Works on Burnley Road in Crawshawbooth have submitted outline proposals to demolish the existing building and structures and replace them with 107 homes.
Proposals for the site of a former cotton mill which was built in 1864, include a mix of houses and apartments with landscaping surrounding.
The development will be a mix of two, three and four bed homes of various types and sizes including townhouses, semis and detached houses.
Three apartment buildings are also proposed to provide a mix of one and two bed units catering for smaller households, single persons and first time buyers.
In a design and access statement with the application, agents CBRE Ltd said: “The illustrative masterplan has demonstrated how a high quality residential development can be delivered on the site in a way that has regard to the site’s context, respects the character of the surrounding area and retains existing natural features.”
Kathy Fishwick, chair of the Rossen- dale Civic Trust said they wished that the mill had been kept.
She said: “We wish we had never lost the mill, it was well worth saving, it’s left a great hole in Rossendale’s heritage and it could have been used for accommodation.
“We would have liked to have had the opportunity to explore that possibility.”
Kathy added that despite losing the mill, housing seemed to be the most suitable use for the site.
She said: “We are looking at retaining as much historical evidence of the site as possible and that includes the layout, the remaining archway to the mill and suitable materials.
“When we lose a building like this, it would have softened the blow if the stone from the mill could have been used.”
Under Government quotas the council has been told that around 5,000 new homes need to be built in the borough over the next 15 years.
Goodshaw ward councillor Dorothy Farrington said: “We’re told by the government that we have so many houses that we have to build, these houses are needed for families.”