Council wins Hoddlesden inquiry but faces legal bill (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Council wins Hoddlesden inquiry but faces legal bill

4:09pm Monday 15th February 2010 in

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COUNCIL bosses will be left with a legal bill of thousands of pounds - despite winning a planning appeal.

A government planning officer has rejected an appeal from Daniel Thwaites Brewery, which wanted to develop the land at the back of the Ranken Arms in Queen Street, Hoddlesden.

Last year the council took too long to decide on plans for five three-bedroom houses on the land, which is in a conservation area, triggering the hearing.

But while the brewery’s appeal has been thrown out, planning inspector Victor Crumley has told Blackburn with Darwen Council to pay towards the costs because of bosses’ “unreasonable behaviour” towards the other side.

Mr Crumley said Thwaites had been frustrated in its attempts to get information from the council, resulting in “unnecessary costs”.

Negotiations are now under way to decide how much the council should pay. Labour opposition group leader Kate Hollern said: “The council has cost money with its stupidity.”

But Tory regeneration chief Alan Cottam said: “The planning inspector intervened before we had completed our deliber-ations. We may have had a different result if we had more time to finish it."

In his verdict on the plans, Mr Crumley said: “I have found that the proposal would fail to preserve the character orappearance of the conservation area, and it would harm living conditions and would not provide a safe and convenient access.”

Residents and a local councillor had opposed the scheme the first time around.