Congestion fears as housing bids gather pace

Congestion is causing ongoing angst as a major Preston housing-building drive continues to gather pace, according to a community leader.
A housing site off Hoyles LaneA housing site off Hoyles Lane
A housing site off Hoyles Lane

Developers were recently given the green light for design details relating to a 200-strong housing development in Cottam.

It brings the number of houses scheduled in the North West Preston sector - part of the City Deal initiative - around the 5,000 mark.

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Julie Buttle, clerk to Whittingham Parish Council, said residents are facing grid-locked roads as the promised infrastructure in the area is not keeping up with the level of development.

The latest application, granted permission earlier this month, for 213 homes on land north of Maxy House Farm, Sandy Lane, will have access points from the proposed East West Link Road (EWLR).

Whittingham PC objected to the proposals on the basis EWLR is yet to receive formal approval.

Ms Buttle said that in general terms the amount of housing development in the NW sector was out-stripping the improvement to roads, even though the nearby Broughton Bypass has recently opened.

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She said: “We have reached a critical point in NW Preston, we’re grid-locked often on Hoyles Lane, Sandy Lane and Lightfoot Lane with all the construction traffic.“We accept the area has been identified for housing but the Local Plan goes up to 2026 and the (East-West) link road could be two years away, it’s a real concern for the Parish Council and our residents, who are fed up.”

More than half a dozen developers have construction sites in the area which is a significant part of the over-arching City Deal scheme which is driving housing, infrastructure and business progress across the region.

The site off Sandy Lane will include 30 per cent affordable housing.

Ms Buttle added: “We feel we have been banging our heads against the wall at the moment, we are putting in the same objections over and over again.”

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