Swathes of Greenbelt land up for sale by Lancashire County Council

The authority bought 10.85 acres of land - larger than eight football pitches - between 249 Chapel Lane and Saunders Lane, New Longton, in 1998 when the route of the bypass had been touted as a ‘blue route’ from the Longton bypass junction with Chapel Lane to the Broad Oak Lane roundabout in Penwortham.

The controversial route meant cutting across large amounts of farmland and impacting on the rural villages of Whitestake and New Longton.

But when funding for the scheme eventually became available through the £434m City Deal, a ‘brown route’ across playing fields at Howick off Liverpool Road, coming out at the Broad Oak Lane roundabout, was chosen and has now been built.

Now LCC has put the land up for sale in in two separate lots of 2.14 Hectares (estimated at £110,000 plus) and 2.22 Hectares (estimated at £150,000 plus), or as a combined lot, with bids expected to reach over £250,000.

To make the sale of the land more attractive, in 2019, LCC successfully applied for permission for a new field access to the southern area, between 233 and 249 Chapel Lane.

>>>Read about the 2019 application here

While the land is Greenbelt and the auctioneers note the potential for equestrian use, subject to consent, LCC have also put a 50-year overage covenant on the land.

This means that if planning permission for development is subsequently obtained for anything other than agricultural or equestrian purposes, LCC would be entitled to a share in the uplift in value.

LCC have been unavailable for comment, but in 2019 said: “This is greenbelt land, which we’re currently preparing to dispose of. Any future use would need to be in keeping with this status.”

Bidding for the lots commences on Tuesday, April 27 and closes the following day.