Rawtenstall housing plan rejected over highway safety

Jonny Wilson of Rosendale Holiday Cottages applied to build the homes in Haslingden Road.

However, the application was refused, with Rossendale Borough Council citing highway safety and amenity for residents in the immediate vicinity of the site.

The decision notice said: “A suitable access to the site from Haslingden Road cannot be achieved, and the substandard access arrangements and additional vehicle movements would have an unacceptable impact on highway safety.

“The development would have a severe impact on highway safety, capacity and amenity within the immediate vicinity of the site.”

Planning agent Banks Chartered Surveyors said most of the land lies within Rawtenstall’s urban boundary, while a small south-western section is Green Belt.

The applicant argued that the section should be classed as “Grey Belt” because existing development, woodland and the A56 enclose it, and it makes little contribution to the Green Belt’s purposes.

The submitted statement says the site is surrounded by homes and offers a “logical infill opportunity” in an established residential area. It also highlights nearby services, bus routes and Rawtenstall town centre.

The applicant also cited the borough’s claimed shortfall in deliverable housing land.

The planning statement says the council has a 4.6-year housing-land supply, below the five-year benchmark, so the homes should receive positive weight.

The plans were submitted for Permission in Principle, which would have decided only the site’s location, use and scale.

Detailed design, parking, drainage, landscaping and biodiversity net gain would have been considered later if the development principle had been approved.