Pendle News Room

It's seeking suggestions for sites that are considered suitable for new housing, employment or other types of development during a six-week consultation.

The consultation will run from Friday 24th February to Friday 7th April.

Councillor Julie Henderson, who oversees Planning for Pendle, explained: “The Core Strategy, which we adopted in December 2015, indicates that 5,662 new homes need to be provided in Pendle between 2011 and 2030.

“Nearly 500 of these homes will be built on the strategic housing site at Trough Laithe Farm between Nelson and Barrowford.

“Any new homes built since April 2011, together with any long-term empty homes that have been brought back into use, can also be taken off the overall figure.

“The strategic housing site at Trough Laithe Farm will accommodate approximately 500 new homes, so we’re looking to find land for around 2,500 new homes.

“Similarly, of the 68 hectares required for employment, just over four hectares needs to be allocated.

This Call for Sites follows on from similar exercises in 2008 and 2010 when almost 250 suggestions were put forward for the Council to consider.

It’s the final chance for sites to be put forward before the Council recommends those to be allocated in the Local Plan.

Councillor Henderson added: “Your suggestions will help to guide where future development and growth in Pendle will take place.

“Before taking any decisions, we’ll carefully consider the views expressed by the local community and other interested parties, alongside the economic, social and environmental impacts of any development proposals.

“There is no guarantee that any proposal will make it into the Local Plan.

“Even if a site is considered suitable for allocation it will be subject to further public consultation before it is submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination.”

Suggestions should be submitted using the Site Nomination form, which can be downloaded from Pendle Council’s website  www.pendle.gov.uk/siteallocations  or picked up at Council offices and libraries throughout Pendle.

In addition to the Call for Sites the Council is seeking comments on three related documents.

• The Scoping Report and Site Assessment Methodology looks at how new development will be divided between Pendle’s towns and villages. It also sets out how we’ll assess the sites that have been put forward for consideration.

• The Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report and Toolkit considers how the site allocations and planning policies in the Local Plan will impact on economic, social and environmental objectives.

• The Green Belt Assessment carried out by independent consultants, looked at land currently designated as Green Belt to see if it continued to fulfil this role. More than 70 separate parcels of land were assessed. Ten parcels were no longer considered to contribute to the overall function of the Green Belt, whilst four, not currently within the Green Belt, were suggested for possible inclusion. The Council cannot make changes to the Green belt without meeting the exceptional circumstances set out in national planning policy.

Copies of these documents are also available on the Council’s website and at Council offices and libraries throughout Pendle.

Site nominations and comments on these documents should be submitted to the Council on or before Friday 7th April.

• Email: ldf@pendle.gov.uk
• Letter: Planning, Building Control & Licensing, Town Hall, Market Street, Nelson, BB9 7LG

Note to editors

The Core Strategy (the first document in the two-part Local Plan) was adopted in December 2015, following extensive consultation with the local community over a number of years. It was also subject to independent examination by a government appointed planning inspector.

The Council must allocate sufficient land to meet the development needs set-out in the Core Strategy.

Trough Laithe Farm (12 hectares net) was allocated as a strategic housing site in the Core Strategy. It is situated close to junction 13 on the M65 motorway and as a strategic site addresses housing needs in the M65 Corridor.

At an average of 30 dwellings per hectare approximately 85 hectares of land will be required to provide 2,500 homes. Add to this the employment land requirement and the overall requirement is just short of 90 hectares. A full-sized 11-a-side football pitch has an area of roughly 0.82 hectares.

The five purposes for including land in Green Belt are set out in paragraph 80 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).