Fight is over as building work starts on new houses

Stewart Milne Homes is constructing 158 houses on Douglas Meadow, a 17.5-acre site on Bolton Road in Adlington.

The first of the two, three and four-bedroom houses are expected to be ready for buyers to move into in June.

The development will also include landscaping, a children’s play area and two ponds.

Eamonn McInerney, sales and marketing director, said: “Douglas Meadow has had a fantastic response so far with 29 early bird reservations before we’ve even officially launched the site and the vast majority of these are local buyers. We also had a couple camp out overnight to buy the first plot.

“The architects have done a brilliant job of positioning each home so that it gets stunning views of the rolling Lancashire countryside. The Chorley area is becoming increasingly popular for families looking to set up home and Douglas Meadow will offer high specification properties with an eye on detail.”

Planning permission for the scheme was granted in 2012, despite a campaign against it.

People’s concerns included the impact on local infrastructure, wildlife and traffic.

Chorley Council’s development control committee gave it the go-ahead – but at the same time demanded the Government call in the application.

But the Government decided not to call it in.

Lead campaigner Gillian Smith, of Bolton Road, said she still has concerns about the flood risk and increased traffic.

But she said: “As soon as they started pulling the bungalows down we knew that everything was lost. There is nothing else we can do. We have tried.”