NEW housing schemes all over the Ribble Valley are going to have the borough bursting at the seams, a concerned householder has claimed.

A project at Hawthorne Farm, Clitheroe, has brought the worry home to Mrs Jane Caunce and her husband Andrew, who live in nearby Hawthorne Place, but they say the problem is not just on their own doorstep.

Mrs Caunce, who is works manager at Ellison's Printing in Rishton, said she and her husband moved to Hawthorne Place because it was a nice, safe area for children to play and there was a good school at St Michael and St John's nearby.

The couple have no family yet, but are planning one, and Mrs Caunce is afraid the area won't be the same by the time she has her family. She said: "The schools can't cope with the extra children these housing developments bring, doctors' surgeries are becoming over-loaded and the extra traffic on little streets like Hawthorne Place just make the environment a danger to children playing out."

"The village of Barrow has been extensively developed and plans for more housing in Chatburn will eventually see the village merging with Clitheroe!"

Ribble Valley's chief planning officer Mr Stewart Bailey however, defended the council's position. He said that the Hawthorne Farm development had been initially refused by borough planning councillors, but permission was granted on appeal to the Secretary of State.

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