A man walks his dog down a quiet and peaceful Parrs Lane this Sunday morning.

But will a controversial planning Inspector's decision to allow the first of 400 homes to be built on and around Parrs Lane mark the end of a way of life in one of the area's most popular communities?



It's now only a matter of time before 150 new homes are built by Wainhomes off Parrs Lane and Prescot Road - subject to planning permission. And that's despite a long hard fight by the Aughton Residents Group (ARG now more like aarrrggghhhh) and Keep Aughton Green which in turn was backed by parish, borough and county councillors of every hue.

And the coup de gras? That'll be if the borough council must pay fees associated with the Skem based public enquiry with the matter bound to be one main topics at the next Aughton PC meeting on September 12th.





Wainhomes applied to build 150 homes on the greenbelt land, contrary to the Local Plan; last June councillors refused the application. The company submitted an appeal against the unanimous decision made by councillors in September and now the planning inspectorate has granted that appeal.





Its decision, issued on Thursday, read: “The appeal is allowed and planning permission is granted for a hybrid application - full planning application for the erection of 50 dwellings and associated works, and outline application including details of access for development of up to 100 dwellings plus 295m2 of D1 uses at land to east of Prescot Road, Aughton.”

Developers Redrow have also submitted an appeal to the planning inspectorate over the council’s refusal of their plan to build 250 homes at nearby Parrs Lane, that's still in the balance but is almost certain to be given the green light.

The Planning Inspector agreed with Wainhomes that the council plan did not demonstrate the necessary requirement of five years land supply nor sufficiently addressed the question of affordable housing or designated accommodation for the elderly.

Colin Atkinson from Aughton Resident’s Group said: “It is a very sad day for the majority of Aughton residents and especially those who have battled hard against these developments since 2012.

“We are angry and disillusioned with the Planning process and Local Democracy which has been ‘trashed’ by this decision.

“Where do we go from here, who knows, but I’m sure we’ll have input once the developers begin their dastardly deeds.”

Added local Conservative Leader, Cllr David Westley: “The Conservative Group is bitterly disappointed with the Planning Inspector’s decision to allow on appeal one of the two Applications that had been refused by the Council’s Planning Committee.

“We took the very difficult decisions that were necessary to deliver a robust Local Plan. They believed that they were acting in the best interests of the residents of West Lancashire and were ensuring the Borough would be protected from rogue developments.

“The Local Plan which was approved by the Planning Inspector after a lengthy public hearing designated the Parrs Lane Site as Safeguard Land. The expectation was Land being protected from development until at least 2027.

“I am satisfied that the Council Officers put up a very robust defence of the Committee’s decision but the Inspector allowed the Appeal as he was not convinced that there was a five year Supply of Housing Land and that the release of the Parrs Lane Site was required to make up the perceived shortfall.”

A Council spokesperson said: “West Lancashire Borough Council worked very hard to put forward a robust defence of its decision to refuse the planning application by Wainhomes to build 150 homes at Parrs Lane, Aughton. The application did not comply with our Local Plan policies.

“The Council won a number of key arguments in the case. For example the Inspector considered that the local plan policies and loss of agricultural land weighed heavily against the application. He also judged that the Council is not guilty of persistent under-delivery of housing.

“The government has however clearly set out in various ministerial statements that the provision of housing is one of their main priorities. There have also been a number of recent appeal decisions and court judgements that have ruled in favour of housing developers and against local authorities and as a result this was a finely balanced decision.

“Bearing the factors of the case, the Planning Inspector considered the merits of the proposed development and the delivery of housing outweighed potential harm to the countryside and its being contrary to our Local Plan policy and consequently ruled in favour of the developer and against the Council’s original decision.

“Naturally, the Council is disappointed with the outcome of the appeal. But we still believe our Local Plan policies are robust and continue to provide the most appropriate guidelines to ensure West Lancashire is developed in the best possible way for the people of West Lancashire.”