Pickering's Farm: New estate should not be built without key road being widened, council leader tells inquiry
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That was the message from South Ribble Borough Council leader Paul Foster who told a public inquiry that he was opposed to the controversial Pickering’s Farm development – if the local road network were to remain unaltered.
He said that the long-mooted widening of the A582 would need to be secured before the housing proposal could be considered sustainable – and he warned that there was little prospect of the cash being found for that project in either “the medium or long term”.
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Hide AdCllr Foster was addressing the sixth day of an inquiry which is hearing an appeal against the district authority’s refusal of permission for two applications submitted jointly by developer Taylor Wimpey and the government’s housing delivery agency, Homes England.
Members of South Ribble’s planning committee unanimously dismissed a bid to build up to 920 homes off Penwortham Way – including a local retail and community centre and a new primary school – and another for no more than 180 properties to the east of the sprawling site.
Cllr Foster, who is not himself a member of that committee, urged the inquiry to back the conclusion that councillors had reached last November when they threw out the applications – in spite of the fact that the plot is part of a wider parcel of land allocated for the development of 1,350 dwellings under South Ribble’s local plan.
He said that it appeared “increasingly more difficult for [the site] to come forward in a sustainable manner”.
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Hide Ad“This is to the extent I would question its deliverability as a site now at all,” Cllr Foster said during the Wednesday afternoon session of the inquiry.
Christopher Katkowski QC, representing Taylor Wimpey and Homes England, suggested that the Labour leader was therefore opposed not just to the individual applications currently on the table – but to the principle of development on the site.
Cll Foster said that the barrister’s characterisation was “not a completely fair summary” of his position – and explained that his view had been shaped by what he believed was only the slimmest chance that the A582 would ever be upgraded to a dual carriageway.
“I’m on the board of the City Deal [which is] charged with delivering the infrastructure and improvements to the A582, which are critical for the delivery of [the Pickering’s Farm] scheme
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Hide Ad“Being on that board, I understand firsthand…that the delivery of the A582 [widening] just isn’t going to happen in the medium or long term. Therefore, if that infrastructure is not delivered, I can’t see how this site is sustainable.”
Mr. Katkowski said that it was a matter of making a business case for the highway work – and that if that were successful, “then the funding follows”.
However, Cllr Foster said that the City Deal simply “has not got the available funding at all for that road”. He contended that the widening of the key route was, in the view of South Ribble Borough Council and the City Deal board itself, “many many years from [coming to] fruition – if it ever happens”.
Lancashire County Council, as the highways authority, has drawn up a yet-to-be determined planning application for the A582 widening project – taking in Penwortham Way, Flensburg Way and Farington Road.
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Hide AdMr. Katkowski asked Cllr Foster whether that application was, in his view, “ a complete waste of time”.
“They might have made the application, but they haven’t got the £100m+ funding for it,” the leader replied.
The inquiry had heard earlier from the county council’s strategic highways planning manager, Neil Stevens, that planning approval, funding and the acquisition of land not currently under the council’s control were all required before the scheme could go ahead.
Mr. Stevens also said that County Hall did not expect the developer of Pickering’s Farm to pick up the tab for the dualling of the A582, unlike some of the other highways projects that it would be expected to fund as mitigation for the possible effects of its proposed development.
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Hide AdThe Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal was an agreement struck nine years ago and was designed to deliver the new infrastructure needed to support the creation of more than 17,000 new homes and 20,000 new jobs over the course of a decade.
Pressed by Mr. Katkowski about whether he supported, opposed or was “sitting on the fence” about the development of the overall Pickering’s Farm site, Cllr Foster said: “I never sit on the fence – I oppose it.”
Mr. Katkowski pointed out that the leader’s own stance was “not the council’s position”, because none of the 11 reasons for refusal listed by South Ribble’s planning committee was based on the fact that members considered the allocation of the site, in itself, to be “objectionable”.
“I accept that,” Cllr Foster responded.
In his opening statement to the inquiry, the leader said that the borough “supports growth” and “need[s] new homes, especially affordable ones”.
“However, this is not at any cost,” he added.
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Hide AdCllr Foster also criticised the pair behind the Pickering’s Farm plans for submitting a masterplan for the overall site – as demanded by South Ribble planning policies – alongside its individual applications for 1,100 homes, rather than seeking approval for the overarching blueprint in advance.