Developer criticised for ditching shops plan on South Ribble estate

A developer has been accused of failing to “build communities” after scrapping plans to create a block of shops as part of a major housing development in South Ribble.
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The original vision for the Morris Homes estate on the site of the former gasworks in Lostock Hall included a local retail centre. That was back in 2013 when outline planning permission was granted for the 281-dwelling scheme.

However, the firm has instead now made a bid to build a dozen additional houses at the entrance to its development off The Cawsey.

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It was claimed in a retail report conducted on behalf of the developer that plans for a Lidl store on the nearby Penwortham Mills estate – the site of the former Vernon Carus factory – would render the proposed shop units unfeasible.

The land at the entrance to the new estate on the former Lostock Hall gasworks site had been earmarked for shops - but now looks set to get more housingThe land at the entrance to the new estate on the former Lostock Hall gasworks site had been earmarked for shops - but now looks set to get more housing
The land at the entrance to the new estate on the former Lostock Hall gasworks site had been earmarked for shops - but now looks set to get more housing

“Other food [or] convenience retailers will not be comfortable trading directly opposite a discount food retailer,” the document states, adding that it would be difficult to attract further occupiers in the absence of an “anchor” tenant.

The assessment – presented as part of an application to South Ribble Borough Council’s planning committee - also highlighted other shopping options in the vicinity at Tardy Gate and the Capitol Centre.

However, committee member Will Adams condemned the retail rethink.

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“This just reeks of a developer who knows the rules and how to get around them, who possibly never had the intention of having a community [facility]. I think this reeks of them looking after their own pocket rather than building communities,” Cllr Adams said.

The intention to build a local centre was also acknowledged in the so-called “reserved matters” application for the site when details of the bulk of the housing were approved in 2015 and planning officers said that all previous approvals for the site had been granted “with the knowledge” that it would be provided.

Following a third party review of the retail study, council planning officers concluded that although the centre would reduce the need for residents to travel – probably by car – to meet their day-to-day needs, that did not give “sufficient grounds” to recommend refusal of the application for extra housing.

Committee member Phil Smith questioned whether enough effort had been made to find a lead tenant in view of the fact that development of any retail centre was not permitted to begin until completion of the cross-borough link road over the summer.

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However, Graham Love, the agent acting for Morris Homes, told the committee that it must consider the application “ on its merits” – noting that there was no requirement in the borough’s local plan for retail units at this location.

Members ultimately deferred their decision over separate concerns about one of the roads on the wider estate not being of an adoptable standard.

Morris Homes was approached for further comment following the meeting.

MEANINGLESS MASTERPLANS?

A proposal for a retail centre as part of the redevelopment of the former gasworks site also appeared in an approved masterplan for the area, drawn up eight years ago.

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Planning committee member Caroline Moon said that the shift in the developer’s stance threw into question the worth of such documents – which are intended to provide an overarching plan for larger developments.

“I’m now thinking [are masterplans] as significant as we’re being told if a developer can then change something?

“I think we need a conversation between our officers and the planning committee about what’s going into these masterplans and [the] timescales - because I don’t want to find myself in this position again where the goalposts are moving,” Cllr Moon warned.

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