New Lancashire road clears major hurdle and it will 'set the tone' for massive housing development
Councillors have approved the £6.8million relief road which will provide ‘an attractive tree-lined corridor’ as the gateway to one of East Lancashire’s biggest ever housing developments.
Hyndburn Council’s planning committee granted planning permission for the controversial new highway when it met on Wednesday.
The 1.1-kilometre road will serve the planned £460m Huncoat Garden Village which is projected to bring up to 1,800 new homes to Hyndburn borough.
An image of the proposed Huncoat Garden Village
This is despite concerns from the Highways Authority Lancashire County Council and 15 letters of objection from the public about the scheme brought forward by Hyndburn Council.
The proposed new ‘Huncoat Lane’ extends from Altham Lane in the north to a roundabout on Burnley Road (A679) to the south and is located west of the Accrington Bypass (A56) near The Griffin Pub.
Local resident Nick Whittaker attended the meeting to ask for the decision to be at least deferred as there were still major questions about the scheme that needed answering.
Former Hyndburn Council leader Miles Parkinson also came along to say approval for the new road was essential to the Huncoat Garden Village plan going ahead.
He said if the 1,800 homes scheme did not proceed it would blow a huge hole in Hyndburn’s Local Plan – the blueprint for the borough’s development over the next 30 years.
Mr Parkinson said: “Huncoat Garden Village is the local plan and the local plan is Huncoat Garden village.”
Madelaine Davies – Associate Technical Director at the scheme’s consultants Arcadis – said: “This is a high-quality design to set the tone for the garden village.
“It will create an attractive tree-lined corridor as a new gateway to Huncoat. It is a sustainable well planned development.”
Hyndburn Council leader Cllr Munsif Dad said the new relief road and Huncoat Garden Village were the keystones of the authority’s local plan bringing 1,800 quality new homes and £500,000 of new investment to the borough.
He added that they would be the council’s legacy to the area after it was abolished in 2028 under proposed Local Government Reorganisation.
Borough town centre’s boss Cllr Clare Pritchard said the new road would take a lot of traffic out of Huncoat Village.
The planning officer’s report admits the proposal would have a harmful effect on the character and appearance of the area but says this is to be expected with a scheme of this nature and scale.
It said the benefits of the road, including a substantial biodiversity net gain, outweighed the harm.