A huge swathe of land on the border with Blackpool should be used to build a “new town” including more than 1,500 new homes for Fylde, community leaders have said. The plea comes amid fears developers in the Fylde borough area are ‘land banking’ large tracts of green space, thanks to a planning loophole which could leave the area with more new homes than it needs.Whyndyke Farm, which lies opposite Little Marton Windmill off Preston New Road, looks like part of Blackpool but lies within Fylde borough’s boundaries.And councillors in Fylde believe it should be used to meet the borough’s house building targets, rather than sacrificing open countryside.Kirkham councillors Liz Oades and Elaine Silverwood, along with other opposition councillors on Fylde Council, are battling to persuade the authority to prioritise this land for house-building in the emerging local plan.But at the moment developers are trying instead to build hundreds of new houses on agricultural fields in the borough.A decision is currently awaited on the latest planning inquiry into a bid by Bloor Homes and Gladman Developments to build 320 homes at Little Tarnbrick Farm on Blackpool Road, Kirkham. Many councillors say they feel their hands are tied and they are being forced to approve such developments in order to meet house-building targets set by government.Crucial to the future is the Fylde local plan, currently out for consultation, which will determine which land is earmarked primarily for future housing. Coun Oades says Whyndyke Farm has the capacity for up to 1,500 houses with new roads, schools and shops.She said; “Fylde is a lovely place to live and we believe we should preserve our countryside and develop other land instead.“Developing Whyndyke Farm would help both Blackpool and Fylde meet their housing needs, and we are asking why can’t we develop Whyndyke sooner. Let’s create a little town there and then we can preserve the character of our existing towns and villages.” The call comes amid increasing ‘land banking’ fears in the borough.The set number of homes to be built in the area is closely watched by the Planning Inspectorate.But perversely, that number is not reduced by planning permissions granted – the number only falls when developers start building.And fears have been raised green space is being reserved by developers who are happy to get permission and hold the land for development at a later date.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Aug 2013 11:31:27 +0000
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