Homes scheme for police station revealed
A FORMER police station could be knocked down to make space for new houses if plans are approved by Rossendale Borough Council.
The old Haslingden Police Station would be demolished under the plans and replaced with eight new homes – six three-storey, three bedroom terraced houses and two two-storey, two bedroom semi-detached houses.
The station, on Manchester Road, was closed following costsaving cuts unveiled by Lancashire Constabulary back in 2011, before being sold for £185,000 at auction in February last year.
The closure of the station – along with those in Bacup and Rawtenstall – left Rossendale Police Station in Waterfoot as the only fully working station in the Valley, with a shop front service on offer in Bacup and Whitworth.
Mayor of Rossendale Coun Granville Morris, who is a Haslingden councillor, said he would have preferred the police station to have remained open there in the first place, although he is pleased to see proposals to use the site for a positive purpose.
He said: “We’ve lost a very important part of the fabric of the community not having a police station, but it’s better the site is used for houses, for something positive, than for commercial use.
“We’re desperate for more housing so it’s a good thing.”
Leesa Amin, chairman of community group Love Haslingden, said: “We would’ve liked the police station to have stayed but are glad the site will be used for something productive and as long as it’s affordable housing it’s a good thing.
“Even though there isn’t a police station in Haslingden we don’t feel the police have forgotten us.”
In its proposal to the council, developers Equilibrium Architects Ltd said they believed the siting, design and scale of the proposed development was ‘acceptable’ and ‘would not harm the character of the surroundings’.