Blackburn with Darwen Council in U-turn after it is accused of 'pocketing the money'

Blackburn with Darwen Borough’s planning committee granted permission for scheme off Whalley Old Road in Sunny Bower on Thursday night after a bitter debate.

Council bosses were accused of putting ‘pocketing the cash’ ahead of residents interests and ignoring the need for a special report on mineral deposits below the land.

Councillors gave outline planning permission for the scheme on the way into Blackburn town centre despite objections from Stephen Atherton, from the Sunny Bower Community Group and Conservative councillor Derek Hardman over the lack of such a report.

The council owns half the application site.

On Friday lunchtime the council revoked the decision pending preparation of a report for next month’s meeting of the committee.

Cllr Phil Riley, its growth boss, said: “The decision has not yet been published.

“It has now been deferred to the next committee meeting for the preparation of a Mineral Safeguarding Area report on what minerals could be extracted from the land.”

Cllr Hardman, who had told the meeting ‘The council is putting pocketing a chunk of money ahead of the interests of residents’, said: “I am pleased. This is the right decision. As we told them the decision should have been deferred at the meeting.”

Iain Sykes, chair of the Sunny Bower Community Group, said: “This is good news. It is the right decision.”

Mr Atherton had told the online meeting: “The council is pocketing the money and ignoring residents.”

He said before the application could be considered there should be a ‘Mineral Resource Assessment’.

Graham Trewhella, from applicants Cass Associates said the proposal was ‘ the right scheme, at the right time in the right place’ on land allocated for housing in the borough’s new draft local plan.

Cllr Riley dismissed the cash claims said the scheme provided the sort of modern homes the borough needed as recovered from the coronavirus pandemic.