A CONTROVERSIAL £40million scheme to build 272 upmarket homes on greenfield land has been approved despite strong opposition.

Wainhomes North West propose to build the mainly detached and semi-detached homes on 12.8 hectares (31.6 acres) of land off Yew Tree Drive and Whinney Lane in Blackburn.

Many of the properties will be four or five-bedroom luxury homes selling for between £200,000 and £250,000.

Blackburn with Darwen Council planning committee approved the scheme despite strong objections from local Conservative councillors, more than 20 nearby residents and Mellor Parish Council.

Beardwood with Lammack’s Cllr Julie Daley spoke out against the scheme at the meeting highlighting concerns over potential traffic problems and the density of the proposed houses at 27 per hectare.

The new estate will take more than half of the 60 acres earmarked by the council in the North Blackburn masterplan for housing development.

Paul Barlow, the manager director of Wainhomes North West, has described the proposal as’ an aspirational development with bespoke designs tailored to the local environment, more country-style near the Ribble Valley border and more urban near Yew Tree Drive.’

The company agreed to pay £1.7m towards off-site highways improvements, local schools provision, and off-site affordable housing.

Cllr Phil Riley, the borough council’s regeneration boss, said: “This is an important development which shows that major companies believe there is a strong housing market in North Blackburn.

“We believe that we have addressed many of the concerns of residents in the conditions attached to the permission especially in regard to highways issues.”

Cllr Daley’s ward colleague Cllr Imtiaz Ali said after the meeting: “This development breaks government guidelines regarding density.

“This is an unsustainable scheme and a traffic problem in the making.

“The committee should not have blindly approved it.”

The Wainhomes application covers two parcels of land at the western end off Yew Tree Drive and Whinney Lane called Bullion Moss Fold and The Whinney.

Wainhomes hope to start work early next year.