Last updated at 19:41, Thursday, 10 May 2012

Stainburn residents have vowed to continue their fight against plans for a £25million 150-home development on land off Moor Road.

Story Homes has resubmitted plans for the development, which would include 30 affordable homes and would create 225 jobs on site.

Its original planning application was refused by Allerdale council’s development panel in March.

The resubmitted application is identical to the original but has been resubmitted due to significant changes in planning policy, in particular the publication of the National Planning Policy Framework.

More than 300 people signed a petition against the original development and the council received 123 letters of objection.

Concerns raised included traffic congestion, pedestrian safety, flooding, development of a greenfield site and destruction of wildlife habitats.

Mandy Akitt, of Moorlands Drive, said residents would be collecting signatures with even more gusto this time around.

She said: “They have not taken Stainburn residents’ comments on board as there have been no changes in the plans.

“The issues of the unsuitable roads, pathways and drainage have not been addressed and it still remains a greenfield site.

“Even if the national policy has changed we still have the same issues.”

A spokesman for Story Homes said: “This development is important to the area and to Story Homes.

“As has been reported previously, Allerdale council has not delivered adequate housing to meet its own targets since 2003.

“Story Homes has worked with Allerdale council’s officers to prepare this planning application for over four years and consider that the officer’s recommendation to approve should be upheld by the committee.

“It has the potential to generate more than £20 million of investment into the local economy.”

She added that a development of this size would create 225 jobs on site, and help to secure another 450 jobs.

The framework was published on March 27 and aims to make the planning system less complex and more accessible, to protect the environment and promote sustainable growth.

An Allerdale council spokeswoman confirmed that the resubmitted plans will be treated as a new application which is open to consultation.

The council’s planning officer had recommended that the original plans be approved but members of the development panel voted for refusal.

The grounds for rejection were that the development was of an inappropriate scale, on land outside a settlement boundary and would cause an adverse impact to highway safety.

First published at 19:25, Thursday, 10 May 2012
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk