New housing estate in Preston countryside 'wrong in principle'

Plans to build a small housing estate on a country lane on the outskirts of Preston have fallen at the first hurdle.

Preston City Council has refused to grant ‘permission in principle’ for the proposed nine-dwelling development off Pudding Pie Nook Lane, between Broughton and Goosnargh.

The authority’s planning officers concluded that the site – in an area designated open countryside – was not of the type where housebuilding would be permitted.

Eleven objections to the blueprint were lodged from members of the public, who claimed, variously, that it was an inappropriate location for housing and would also cause traffic problems on the narrow rural route.

Local planning policy means the 0.3-hectare plot is deemed suitable only for “small-scale” construction – and development considered to be so-called “infilling” between existing buildings.. Proposals to meet local needs are also allowed – but there would have to be “exceptional reasons” for any large scale development.

Town hall planners determined that the suggested estate – brought forward by Bahadvr Developments Ltd. – did not meet any of those criteria.

A report outlining the reasons for their decision stated that the site was “not enclosed by development on [its] north, east and southern sides” and so could not be regarded as falling within “a cluster of buildings”. The land also lies beyond the borders of any existing settlement or village, sitting around one-and-a-half miles east of Broughton.

Permission in principle planning applications seek to establish the right to build on a site, with all other matters relating to the nature of the development considered at a later stage, ahead of full planning approval being granted.

Nevertheless, it was also noted that almost the entire length of Pudding Pie Nook Lane is without a paved footpath or street lighting, making it “impractical and unsafe” for pedestrians and cyclists to travel into Broughton from the proposed homes.

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