Penwortham: Gove backs new homes plan twice-rejected by council

Plans to build 1,100 homes on farmland which were twice-rejected by a council have been approved by Michael Gove.

The proposals for a plot in Penwortham had been subject to a public inquiry after South Ribble Borough Council turned them down on two occasions.

Housing Minister Felicity Buchan said the secretary of state had now approved them due to the site being part of the authority's own local plan.

The Labour-led council's leader said he would challenge the decision in court.

Paul Foster added that the plans would lead to traffic congestion and "cause utter chaos for generations".

The plan for the site, between Penwortham Way and Leyland Road, was last rejected by the council in November 2021.

Joint applicants builder Taylor Wimpey and government housing agency Homes England appealed the decision and a public inquiry was launched in 2022.

Independent inspector Patrick Hanna found that there were "extensive public benefits" for the area, including 330 new affordable homes, and recommended the plans for approval.

He said there was "an acute and pressing need" for affordable homes and as such, the plan was of "hugely worthwhile public benefit in its own right".

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said a letter issued on behalf of Mr Gove stated that he had "not identified any conflicts" between the plan and the housing proposed by the council, noting that the site had been earmarked for development in the current South Ribble Local Plan.

The local plan, a combined work by Preston, South Ribble and Chorley councils, is due to be completed and adopted by summer 2025.

Mr Foster said he planned to challenge the decision in the High Court and there was "no chance" of the council "giving up".

"How any sensible person can think that the government overturning the council's democratic decision - that we made twice - is acceptable is just beyond me," he said.

"The roads through that area suffer appalling congestion, yet some bureaucrat based in Bristol can spend a few days here, overturn a decision, and cause utter chaos for generations."

South Ribble's Conservative MP Katherine Fletcher said the council's "disappointing failure" to produce a new local plan to replace the 2015 version had left the planning inspector with "no choice but to follow due process".

"I suggest local residents raise their concerns with the lead planning authority, which is South Ribble Borough Council," she said.

A representative for Taylor Wimpey and Homes England welcomed the decision and said the development would also bring local highway improvements, significant financial contributions, land for a new primary school and a new local centre.

They said they were "creating a sustainable development in accordance with South Ribble's Local Plan".

The approval was for outline plans, which means separate applications for up to 920 homes off Penwortham Way and for up to 180 properties to the east of the site will go before South Ribble Borough Council in the future.

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