Care home agreed with culvert work
STUART PIKE
ASURVEY will need to be carried out on a culvert running underneath the former Bacup Health Centre site before it can be redeveloped.
Planners have granted an application for a threestorey care home at the dilapidated former health centre site. But the approval stated that ecological concerns need to be resolved first, including investigations to see if the culvert needs repairing or replacing.
Surrey-based applicant Krinvest has applied for the 22-bed home for adults and elderly with learning disabilities, on Yorkshire Street.
The plan includes eight parking spaces, a drop-off area, ambulance bay and eight spaces for bicycles.
The health centre was ●● The demolition of the old health centre on Yorkshire Street, Bacup, in 2012 demolished in 2012.
Last year, the latest in a series of planning approvals at the site was received for the construction of a three-storey building containing nursery, offices and 10 flats.
Greave Clough Brook flows in a culvert through the centre of the site. The Environment Agency (EA) inspected the culvert last May and classified it as in poor condition overall.
In the proposal, the applicant said: “Within the conservation appraisal the site has been identified as a key area of negative impact. With the former building having been demolished, the site lies unused and therefore the development would present an opportunity for re-use. The conservation officer notes that the design of the proposed is simple and reflects an element of the local style through materials and proportions.”
The plan was approved by all seven members of Rossendale’s develop- ment control committee, subject to conditions.
They said the area was an “eyesore” and improvements would be welcomed to a gateway into the town, as well as welcoming new jobs.
An inspection by the EA noted deformation of the culvert’s arch structure which may have occurred as a result of the previous demolition works.
The planning statement added: “No objection is raised to the principle of redeveloping the site, however the EA requires the culvert to be repaired or replaced before the proposed building is constructed.
“The EA also notes that the landowner is responsible for the maintenance/ repair of the culvert and recommends that any planning permission has a condition to require the landowner/developer to undertake the necessary works.” ●● Haslingden Detachment Army Cadets at the summit of Pendle Hill