A PLAN to transform the former vinegar works in Barrowford into a block of 30 apartments and two detached houses was refused by Pendle Council after opposition from residents and the parish council.

Councillors at the last Barrowford and Western Parishes Committee meeting deferred their decision on the plans, submitted by Nationwide Special Projects Ltd, so they could make a site visit and the plans could be put on public display.

The site is the Clough Springs Brewery in Wheatley Lane Road.

Following negotiations with the applicant, the four detached houses originally proposed were reduced to two and design features on the apartment block were modified.

But Barrowford Parish Council objected to the development on the grounds it would increase traffic near the new St Thomas Primary School and reduce road safety as there was a lack of footpaths on both sides of Wheatley Lane Road. They also believed the apartment block would not fit in with the appearance of nearby houses.

Their concerns were echoed by residents in Wheatley Lane Road and councillors at the recent committee meeting ignored the planners' recommendation for approval.

They agreed that the apartment block was not appropriate and refused the plans on the grounds of design, height and length of the building and said they thought it was unacceptable to residents.

Richard Nelson, clerk to the parish council, said: "I think the parish council will be pleased that it has been refused.

"The parish council was concerned that it was being allocated to housing rather than employment, which was its previous use.

"We think a great big block of flats is completely alien to Barrowford and if it had to be housing we would rather see something more conventional."

Council planners continued to recommend approval, stating that the block made no greater impact on the site than the silo compound and former brewery buildings and that the proposal was a suitable re-development of a site derelict for some time.