Cottam Parkway back on track after wrangle over landA former farm in South Ribble has gone on the market after permission was granted to turn it into an estate of industrial units designed to house start-up businesses.
South Ribble Borough Council’s planning committee approved the proposal at a recent meeting, having deferred its decision last December after questioning whether the farm should be classed as “previously developed”. However, Lancashire county councillor Michael Green – who represents the Moss Side and Farington division – said that while the agricultural business had “diversified to some extent”, it was only for the sale of “a few wooden planters and likewise”.Acknowledging the economic benefits of the proposal, County Cllr Green said that it was nevertheless important to “stand up to protect the greenbelt”.
Some committee members remained unconvinced, with Cllr Mary Green saying she was saddened that so many applications were being “chewed on” and contrived “just so that we can allow yet another industrial unit on a…piece of greenbelt”. Ms. Thomas stressed that national planning guidance encouraged “alternative uses” of redundant agricultural buildings – where the farms in question are “no longer viable” – in order to prevent their deterioration.