COUNCILLORS have kicked up a stink over plans to build a housing estate next to a Great Harwood abattoir.
Hyndburn’s Planning Committee threw out the application by Clitheroe-based Ian Jackson for 37 three and four-bedroom houses and 12 apartments on the blighted site of the former Monroes nightclub and the Showground, the former home of Great Harwood Town FC.
If successful, Mr Jackson had pledged to plough £300,000 into changing rooms for Great Harwood Rovers FC’s 18 youth teams at the nearby Lyndon House playing fields.
The facilities there were described by one FA representative as the worst he’d ever seen.
The application claimed that the site had caused residents many problems over the years including vandalism, noise levels and drug abuse associated with the nightclub.
The plans were backed by a petition signed by over 350 people but the committee decided they infringed several planning guidelines, including development of green field sites, laoss of open space and being close to the abattoir.
The environmental health department had recommended refusal on the grounds of odour nuisance but the applicants argued that the smell was a borough-wide problem and not confined to the site.
Committee chairman, Councillor John Griffiths, said: “There will be a windfall for the football club if this is approved but to my mind it unfortunately conflicts with planning policies.”
Councillor Lynn Wilson added: “The abattoir does stink. If the wind is in the right direction you can smell it right the way across Great Harwood.
“I think it would be dreadful if this committee was persuaded to allow this development to take place because of the carrot that’s being offered to the football club.”
But Councillor Miles Parkinson pointed out that the abattoir was in an area which could soon be assigned to future housing and employment use under Hyndburn Council’s core strategy development plan, which is under consultation.
He said: “I understand the concerns of councillors that the carrot might be seen as a bribe but looking at the area it’s in the inner core of Great Harwood, not the green belt circumference. If the site was developed the concerns over smell would be addressed through the relevant agencies.”
