Plans for 125 homes in Barton tipped for green light

A parish council has urged Prestons city authority not to allow its lack of a five year housing supply to ride roughshod over inappropriate developments.

It comes as plans for 125 homes at land to the north of Jepps Lane in Barton are to be considered at Preston’s planning committee on Thursday.

Barton Parish Council made the comments in a consultation as it lodged an objection to the application from Story Homes.

An officer’s report to be debated by the committee states that the parish council said: “The council must not use the lack of five-year housing land supply to “ride roughshod” over inappropriate and visually harmful developments that will have long term landscape and environmental impacts.”

The proposals also drew objections from 98 members of the public and MP for Preston North Ben Wallace, who said that the scheme would “only exacerbate traffic on the already congested A6”.

However the report explains that because the council cannot demonstrate a five-year housing supply, “the development plan policies most important for determining the application are out of date” and policy means the development is tiled in favour of being passed.