RIBBLE Valley MP Nigel Evans has criticised the government for failing to provide enough support for the borough council over planning applications.

The MP said he felt ‘incredibly frustrated that more protection is not being afforded to local authorities such as Ribble Valley’.

He has held talks with Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles.

He said: “It does seem there is a never-ending number of large and small-scale developments being proposed across our area and, simply put, the situation cannot go on. At the moment, it is the residents who are bearing the brunt of an unclear system.

“A valid core strategy will give the council the control they need, but there has to be a recognition from the government that some areas in the UK, of which the Ribble Valley is one, risk being forever destroyed because of the failure to find a solution to an obvious problem.”