A PLAN for a large housing estate in Whalley, which led to the setting up of a residents’ action group in 2010, has been resubmitted.

The application for 71 homes on land to the north of Riddings Lane is a reduction of nine properties since the original proposal was given the green light in 2011.

The new proposal has been submitted by Co-operative Estates, who submitted the previous plan, and Bellway Homes.

That application was the first to be objected to by the newly-formed Save Whalley Village Action Group and is considered to have been the first to ‘open up the floodgates to hundreds of more homes elsewhere in the village’.

Developers The Co-operative Group had gone head-to-head with council bosses and residents over the plans to build 80 houses on land near Riddings Lane.

Residents opposed the plans, raising concerns about the impact on wildlife and claiming their village would become a ‘sprawling housing estate’.

Nick Walker, chairman of the action group, said: “We are very disappointed with the Co-op as it’s supposed to be an ethical company.

“Instead they seem to be wanting to build on green fields for profit and taking land away from rural communities. It’s good that this plan has been reduced by nine, but it’s still too large for a village the size of Whalley.

“The original application was the first one that we fought as a group and unfortunately we lost.

“It was the start of many other large applications for the village in the years to come.

“The applicants obviously think that they won’t be able to sell the original number of houses on that site and have had to downsize.”

A spokesman for the applicants said: “We seek to create a high-quality and sustainable neigh-bourhood.”