Bid for 1,300 homes on Lancashire farmland rejected

A controversial bid to build up to 1,300 homes on farmland has been rejected.

The plan for a site to the east of the M6 in Samlesbury, Lancashire, would have also included industrial and commercial units, a primary school, shopping centre, green spaces and a park-and-ride facility into Preston.

More than 1,250 objections to the scheme were lodged, and it was recommended for refusal by South Ribble Borough council planning officials because it constituted inappropriate greenbelt development.

Story Homes, the applicant, said it is considering its next steps after the plans, named Cuerdale Garden Village, were formally rejected.

The developer had warned councillors against making decisions without fully considering the most up-to-date version of the plans.

Richard Eastham, one of three tenant farmers who currently work the land being eyed for development, objected to the plans.

He said his grandparents had started farming Walmsley Fold Farm on the site 80 years ago and that he wanted to keep his current dairy operation going for decades to come.

He said: "I am proud to produce food that is sold throughout the Ribble Valley and beyond.

"It's what we, as farmers, have been told to produce for years now and what we are achieving in Samlesbury and what South Ribble should be proud of."

Samlesbury and Cuerdale Parish Council chair Graham Young said it would mean "the permanent decimation of over 220 Premier League football pitches of greenbelt, lost for an eternity".

Councillor Jasmine Gleave urged the committee to block what she said amounted to an "assault" on the countryside.

The land is not allocated for building upon either in the current South Ribble local plan or in the central Lancashire-wide strategy that is due to supersede it, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

However, that proved a point of contention for Story Homes' John Winstanley, who stressed that the Central Lancashire Local Plan (CLLP) was far from finalised.

The firm's managing director of strategic land said it would be "premature to draw a conclusion that Cuerdale Garden Village is not needed".

He warned that doing so could leave the borough without sufficient land set aside to meet its future housing and employment needs.

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