Conservative Councillors for the Whalley Painter Wood Ward, Cllrs Mark Hindle & Ged Mirfin called a Public Meeting which took place on Monday 17th June in the Old Whalley Grammar School to solicit opinion from local residents on the recent application 3/2019/0448 land at Wiswell Lane, Whalley made by Gary Hoerty Associates on behalf of V H Land Partnership for 125 houses on land at Wiswell Lane, Whalley which is actually in the Wiswell & Barrow Ward. A packed meeting was attended by over 60 residents from Whalley, Wiswell And Barrow.
The site lies adjacent to the north eastern end of the built up area of Whalley. The northern and eastern site boundaries are defined by the A59 and by the A671. The southern site boundary is along Wiswell Lane. The application site is situated approximately 1.2km from the centre of the village of Whalley.
The meeting which was chaired by Cllr Mark Hindle was also attended by a host of local Borough and Parish Councillors including Borough Councillors: Ged Mirfin (Whalley Painter Wood); Ruth Baxter (Billington and Langho); Tony Austin (Billington and Langho); David Berryman ( Whalley Nethertown): David Birtwistle (Wiswell And Barrow); Parish Councillors: Cliff Ball ( Whalley) And Alan Schofield (Chair Wiswell).
A number of issues were raised by local residents including:
* the fact that the 5 year land supply had been more than met in the Ribble Valley
* dangerous traffic movements on Wiswell Lane, the A671, Accrington Road and the A59
* the fact that the site would result in the movement of excessive volumes of traffic down Wiswell Lane and through the villages of Whalley And Barrow putting undue pressure on the road infrastructure through the two villages
* the sustainability of the site and the fact that the site is in a semi-detached location isolated from both Whalley and Barrow with currently limited means of pedestrian access to either village for people without access to a vehicle
* the fact that the site is outside of the settlement boundaries of both Whalley and Barrow and would lead to a further unwanted increase in the size of both villages
* pressure on infrastructure in particular on local schools and doctors surgeries
* further pressure on the already limited parking available to residents shopping in Whalley
Cllr Ged Mirfin summarised the methods available to residents who wished to object to the application. He stressed it was vital in the first instance to make their reservations in the first instance to the Highways District Surveyor in the Highways Department at Lancashire County Council by contacting [email protected] by email.
Residents can also make their objections to the application known by:
* inputting their objections directly into the Planning Portal at:
https://www.ribblevalley.gov.uk/planningApplication/30805
* by emailing Nicola Hopkins, the Director of Economic Development & Planning at:
* by writing to the Director of Economic Development, Nicola Hopkins at:
The Planning Department
Ribble Valley BoroughCouncil
Council Offices
Church Walk
Clitheroe
Lancashire
BB7 2RA
stating the reference number of the application
Or, preferably a combination of all three.
Cllr Ged Mirfin states, “It was vital that Local Councillors were able to solicit the views of local residents on this worrisome application and offer advice on how to object based on planning reasons which would carry weight with the planning authority when it came to reaching a decision on the application. I was particularly pleased to such a large turnout on a Monday evening from people who care passionately about their community and understood the issues in a way which provided valuable context for local councillors when it comes to arguing their case further.”
Cllr Mark Hindle states, “ I was pleased at the outcome of the meeting. t was important it took place so that local residents were able to articulate their views and make their voice heard in a friendly convivial setting. I feel this was truly local democracy in action.”
