SHOUTS of ‘shame on you’ were directed at councillors who gave the go-ahead for 260 houses and a primary school to be built in Whalley.

People in the public gallery voiced their anger during Ribble Valley Borough Council’s planning committee on Thursday evening amid a police presence following Tuesday’s 200-strong protest outside the full council meeting.

Applicants Commercial Estates Group had previously had plans to build 300 houses on the Lawsonsteads site, near Brooke’s Lane and Clitheroe Road in the north-east of the village, rejected by the committee.

Nick Walker, chairman of the Save Whalley Village Action Group, said: “The visual impact of this development would be immense and clearly detrimental to the visual amenity of the village.

“It is fields and landscapes such as this which gives the village its character.

“Whilst the plans do contain a primary school, Whalley has had bitter memories of them being promised in the past and nothing coming of it.”

Steve McBurney, who spoke on behalf of the applicants, said: “Whilst we can’t convince everyone that these houses will benefit the village, we can’t be accused of not listening and responding to people’s views after the previous failed application.

“We have worked hard to find the best solution and there are many benefits linked with this plan.”

Whalley Parish Council objected to the proposal over fears of it causing undue harm to the Whalley Conservation Area, issues over drainage and increased flood risk.

Wiswell Parish Council branded the application both ‘opportunistic and an attempt to pre-empt the core strategy’.

The meeting, along with interviews with council leader Stuart Hirst and campaigner Nick Walker, is due to be aired on ITV’s Tonight programme on Thursday, August 8 as part of a report on housing applications.