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Search the Public Notice PortalControversial plans to build two huge warehouses on greenbelt land bordering Blackburn with Darwen will be recommended for approval when they are debated by councillors next week.
The pair of units have been proposed for a site at Feniscowles, close to Chorley’s border with Blackburn.
The prospect of the development, which would stand between the M65 and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, has so far generated 280 objections and prompted the formation of a campaign group dedicated to stopping the scheme in its tracks.
However, Chorley Council planning officers will advise members of the authority's planning committee that they should give the go-ahead to the project, off Finnington Lane, which has been brought forward by Chorley-based FI Real Estate Management Limited.
Ann Christopher, from the Friends of Finnington group, said it “beggars belief” that the warehouse and distribution facilities could get the green light.
She contrasted the proposed units - which would stand more than 20 metres tall and have a combined floorspace of 120,780 square metres - with a notorious warehouse development in the Tydlesley area of Wigan, which recently sparked uproar from locals.
"This is basically Wigan on steroids," Ann said.
"And the crux of it is that it’s inappropriate development in the greenbelt."
The campaign group will draw upon expert evidence it has commissioned, which it says supports that claim during what it expects to be a well-attended meeting at Chorley Town Hall on Tuesday, June 16.
However, a report to be presented to that gathering from council planning officials states that the blueprint complies with national guidance laying out the limited exceptions permitting greenbelt development.
"The development would clearly contribute to economic growth within Chorley and Blackburn, supporting the provision of employment through job creation within the units that would be developed, which is an economic and social benefit that carries substantial weight," the document explains.
"The proposal would also meet an identified sub-regional need for large-scale logistics development," it adds.
While there is conflict between the scheme and local planning policy - for reasons including the damage it would cause to "the landscape and visual character of the area” - the benefits of the units are considered substantial enough to outweigh the harms identified.
FI Real Estate Management claims that the additional jobs it expects the warehouses to create would be worth up to £44 million a year to the local economy.
The firm estimates between 764 and 849 jobs would be generated at the site itself and up to 458 within the wider local logistics sector and support industries.
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