A PLAN to construct 363 homes in Longridge, which will force the relocation of the cricket club, has been approved.

Applicant BDW Trading Ltd has been given permission to start the project by Ribble Valley Borough Council.

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The proposal also includes a new primary school, a new cricket ground and a pavilion.

The decision comes after the applicant agreed to cut the number of houses by 30 per cent from 520 in a bid to ensure that the plan was approved.

The new cricket club is expected to be built in the north-east of the site in Chipping Lane.

Before a final decision was made by the council, 82 letters of objection and three in support were sent to planning officers.

The objections raised by nearby residents included concerns that the school might never be built, the loss of the cricket pitch and the number of houses.

In a report to planning bosses, before a decision was made, a council officer said: “The proposal would contribute to the provision of housing and affordable housing in the borough to meet objectively assessed housing need.

“The development of agricultural land to provide housing would inevitably change the character of the area.

“The nature of the visual impact itself would largely consist of the introduction of built-form into an area of open agricultural land, a potential reduction in the sense of ‘openness’ associated with the site and perception of the associated change as a result of the development.”

“It is not considered that the proposal, as submitted, would result in significant harm to the character and appearance or visual amenities of the immediate area and the visual impact would not be so significant as to outweigh the benefits associated with the proposal.”

The approval comes after a request by Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans to have the application reviewed by the planning minister Brandon Lewis was rejected.

He said: “I’m very disappointed and a much smaller proposal would have been more appropriate.

Cllr Ken Hind, the chairman of Longridge Conservatives, said that the town’s population would grow by 2,000 if all of the houses that were approved are built.