New planning bid for warehouse units AFTER work starts
Council ordered halt following neighbours’ alert
THE property arm of the billionaire Issa brothers’ business empire has submitted a backdated planning application for commercial units on a flagship development - after town hall bosses ordered work to stop.
In January, Hyndburn council was called in by neighbours after they noticed that the warehouses being built by Monte Blackburn Ltd on the Frontier Park scheme were not in accordance with the permission granted in February 2020.
The approved four units on the 3.5-acre site have been replaced by three larger ones.
The steel framework of the buildings along Blackburn Road, Oswaldtwistle, had been put up when Hyndburn council planning officers intervened.
Now Monte Blackburn - the property development company owned by EG Group founders Mohsin and Zuber Issa which is developing Frontier Park - have submitted a revised, retrospective planning application.
The proposal was due to be decided by the council’s planning committee on Wednesday evening as the Observer went to press. Eleven letters of objection were received.
The industrial units would be the latest part of the overall development on the Hyndburn/Blackburn border which includes a service station with several food and drink outlets and a Hampton by Hilton hotel.
A planning statement submitted with the application says: “It is noteworthy that full planning permission was granted for the erection of four starter units. This latter application was progressed on a speculative basis and has since been marketed.
“Following occupier interest, it has been deemed necessary to alter the scheme to provide three units in buildings that provide a larger footprint.”
A planning officer’s report to the committee reveals the objections by neighbours include noise nuisance, the ‘very gloomy and depressing look’ of the buildings, traffic, highway safety, air pollution and the impact on bats and other wildlife.
The report says: “The site is located on the north of Blackburn Road, adjacent to the Old Mother Redcap public house, within the boundary of the Frontier Park development at Whitebirk.
“There are residential houses at the opposite side of Blackburn Road on Richmond Crescent. The development of the site has begun. The buildings are erected, but not clad. The steel frame is up, and the access has been created. Frontier Park was designed and developed as a business park and is not in a town centre location.
“Although it is accepted there are impacts on the visual amenity of the area, officers consider the quality scheme proposed would be a marked improvement on the landscaping which was approved for the previous scheme.”
The report recommends approval with 14 conditions.