A VETERAN MP has blasted plans for a 1,300-home development on greenbelt land near Blackburn, describing opposition to the proposal as a “fight for future generations”.

Nigel Evans said he had been left moved by the testimony of tenant farmers who face losing their livelihoods if the Cuerdale Garden Village gets the go-ahead.

He was speaking after attending a public meeting about the proposed scheme, which would also provide business and commercial space – as well as a new primary school – on a sprawling site to the east of the M6 in Samlesbury.

The proposed plot sits just within Mr. Evans’ Ribble Valley constituency and he has vowed to ask the government to step in and have the final say if the blueprint – brought forward by North West-based Story Homes – is ultimately given the go-ahead by South Ribble Council when its planning committee considers the matter later this year.

He also said the plans exposed the need to defend the “principle of greenbelt preservation” far beyond the borders of any one borough.

Mr Evans added: “This is not just about South Ribble – this is about England.

“We are fighting battles, not just for the current farmers and the people currently who live in and around that area, [but] for future generations – that they will have this beautiful countryside intact.

“This is green belt land – there’s plenty of other land available without destroying our countryside.

“And once you start encroaching there, then there are other green fields that will be lost as well – you’ll have lost the argument for the preservation of greenbelt land around that area.

“I’m standing 1,000 per cent with the residents – and should the local authority pass this in any way, shape or form, I will ask for the Secretary of State to call it in,” added Mr. Evans.

Story Homes’ planning application acknowledges most of the proposed site of the garden village – which the firm says would support 3,100 jobs and give a £277m boost to the local economy – is currently agricultural land.

Samlesbury and Cuerdale Parish Council chair Graham Young – himself a farmer – says he cannot fathom how the company can also claim on its application form that there are no “existing employees” on the plot.

Cllr Young said right now land near his farm was "just growing grass for the next crop of silage".

“But there is the mowing of it, the mole-catching, hedge cutting, re-seeding [and] ploughing – all done at different stages of the year [when] that field would be like a hive of enterprise,” Cllr Young said.

More than 200 people attended the public meeting about the garden village proposals. Back in April, 98 per cent of voters in a parish referendum said they were opposed to the idea, on a 49 percent turnout.

A spokesman for Story Homes said that the developer was keen to listen to local concerns about its plans.

“The site for Cuerdale Garden Village has been chosen because of the uniquely sustainable location for strategic growth aligned to the £4.5bn Government investment into the National Cyber Force [centre].

"Such investment will generate demand for a significant number of jobs and provide an economic boost to the local area.

"This will create a significant need for new homes and quality employment space, with Story Homes’ proposals responding to this need."