CLITHEROE residents are calling for a 345-home plan to be blocked at an appeal hearing this week.

An independent planning inspector started listening to the arguments surrounding the Waddow View planning application yesterday.

Residents have formed an action group to contest the appeal after the Ribble Valley Borough Council’s decision to withdraw opposition in July and they were expected to give their evidence today.

The Back Commons Residents’ Group is made up of people from the eight houses closest to the proposed development which also includes a 50-place nursery.

A consortium of landowners, including Clitheroe Auction Mart, the Huntroyde Estate and John Taylor, appealed after the plans were rejected by the council’s planning committee on February 14.

But borough council plans to fight the appeal were ditched after they sought legal advice.

Kevin Horkin, ward councillor for the town said: “What has transpired since it was refused in February has left residents feeling mystified and annoyed as what was democratically refused was later overturned by an ‘emergency committee’.

“My view as a councillor is that our emergency committee, which was made up of a few individuals, were ‘bounced’ into making a hasty and inappropriate decision for the town.

“As a local businessman with over 30 years experience in the town, I would obviously benefit from the increased trade and footfall that would occur as a consequence of such an application being approved “But even I see that, on balance, this ‘approved’ application would create huge problems for Clitheroe by introducing such a large number of builds in such an inappropriate location with a total lack of infrastructure and a large increase in traffic adding to the heavily congested roads that we currently have.”

The hearing, overseen by the Planning Inspectorate, is expected to last all week.