Controversy over refusal of housing application
REFUSING permission for homes on an empty industrial site near Grane Road compared with approving new homes on a green field nearby shows contradictory thinking, a councillor has claimed.
The suggestion came at the latest Rossendale Council Development Control Committee meeting, when councillors followed planning officers’ advice to refuse permission for 104 new homes near Carrs Mill Industrial Estate, Haslingden.
Chorley-based applicant Blackmores D Ltd wanted permission to build the homes at Grane Road Mill, known locally as Birtwistle’s Mill, a southern section of the industrial estate.
However, planning officers said the land is officially earmarked for employment. Building homes there could, in turn, put unwanted pressure on other land to be turned into industrial estates.
Planning officers also said building 104 homes there was too many, there was no public open space suggested, car parking and design issues were poor, and there was a lack of information on issues such as flooding, drainage and potential contamination.
Blackmores D Ltd, represented by planning agent Calderpeel, wanted to demolish existing buildings including an old mill site, and build new homes on both sides of Swinnel Brook, which is currently a culvert but would be reopened. They also wanted to create an extra access road on one side of the brook.
Donna Barber, representing the applicant, said there had been different opinions between the developer and planning officers, and some communication delays.
However, she said: “We would urge you not to refuse the principle of housing. We acknowledge the reasons being suggested for refusal but we can work with the local authority. Refusal would waste the work done so far. We’d have to go right back to the start.”
She suggested the plan had local residents’ support, saying: “Only two pieces of correspondence have been received about this plan, but no objections. This is unprecedented for ideas of this scale. We accept changes are needed and would urge deferral, not refusal, so we can work with Rossendale Council.”
Ms Barber said the Grane Road Mill site was marketed by a
specialist estate agent in 2020 and seen by a number of businesses.
However, there had been no offers. The land was on a slope, access for large lorries was limited and some parts of the mill were closed-off and dangerous.
Labour Coun Liz McInnes said: “The planning officer’s report mentions the option of a mixed-use site with business and residential properties. But it says the applicant did not take the opportunity to discuss this further. Is that correct?”
Ms Barber replied: “There was a point of disagreement about that.
“The applicant still thinks this is inappropriate for employment land. We think the bigger industrial estate to the north has influenced thinking on this section. The plot we’re looking at would need wider roads cut further into the site, if it was developed for new industrial buildings. I’ve been convinced this is not an industrial site.”
She also said the applicant had hung back from commissioning expensive, more detailed reports until a decision was taken by the committee.
A written statement from Conservative Coun Caroline Snowden was read to the committee. She stated the proposals had existed for a significant length of time, which was plenty of time for issues to be discussed. If the
Grane Road Mill site was developed, residents would overwhelmingly prefer a residential site, she stated.
In addition, Coun Snowden claimed residents were ‘astonished’ that reasons such as flood risks and sustainable development were being used now to justify refusing the Blackmores application, yet these types of reasons appeared to have been ‘dismissed’ during last year’s approval of the Grane Road housing development by Taylor Wimpey at Holcombe Road.
Coun Snowden’s statement claimed the planning application was ‘flawed in parts’ but that was overshadowed by the planning report, which was ‘so inconsistent’ with the Grane Road plan.
In summary, she supported homes being built on ex-industrial brownfield sites and, on this occasion, residents also thought the site should be used for housing.
However, Mike Atherton, Rossendale Council’s head of planning, said the advice to refuse the Blackmores application was legitimate. He said: “I think considerable weight must be placed on protecting employment land.
“We have more than enough land to meet a five-year housing supply, which has been independently verified.
“The council’s Local Plan was thorough and experts suggest this site would be suitable for employment, and that would be acknowledged by the Planning Inspectorate. Comments could have been submitted on this and tested. But the applicant declined.”
Councillors voted to refuse the Grane Road Mill site application, although two abstained.