Meeting called over village housing fears

Residents are being urged to make their voices heard as a parish council seeks answers over the scale of housing development in a Fylde village.
A recent housing development on Harbour Lane, Warton, with Hastings Avenue in the foregroundA recent housing development on Harbour Lane, Warton, with Hastings Avenue in the foreground
A recent housing development on Harbour Lane, Warton, with Hastings Avenue in the foreground

A special meeting of Warton’s parish council has been called for tonight ahead of two applications for new housing developments going before Fylde Council’s planning committee and both being recommended for approval.

The two applications – one for 375 homes on land to the east and west of the Freckleton bypass and the other for 115 on the site of Clifton House Farm on Lytham Road – have reignited parish councillors’ concern at what they feel is potential over-development of the village as the Warton Neighbourhood Plan, submitted more than 18 months ago, continues to be considered as part of the Fylde Local Plan.

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Parish councillor Jessica Ashworth, who chairs the parish council’s Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group, said: “Currently we have around 800 new homes approved which represents broadly a 50 per cent increase over a 2012 base.

“In addition there are further planning applications either lodged or pending of which the parish council has knowledge totaling in the order of 700 houses.

“We submitted our Neighbourhood Plan to Fylde Council in September 2014 which to date has not been progressed to the satisfaction of the Parish Council.

“On seeing the published agenda for next week Fylde Council’s Development Management Committee, a further two applications representing 490 of the 700 lodged or pending are on the agenda and being recommended for approval by officers.

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“As a consequence a special parish council meeting has been called to discuss the our response to Fylde’s plans to approve further large scale housing.

“We encourage all residents to attend.”

The special parish council meeting is at Bridges Pavilion, Canberra Way, 
starting at 7.15pm.

Fylde Council says that work on the Warton Neighbourhood Plan has progressed to the examination stage while the Fylde Local Plan to 2032 has progressed towards submission stage and retains the concept of Warton as a strategic location for development.