Plans to build 257 new homes between two villages in East Lancashire have been withdrawn, after hundreds of objections were raised with the council.

Almost a year after an application was submitted to Pendle Council seeking to build the homes on land to the south-west of Pasture Lane and the north-west of Appleby Drive, between Barrowford and Roughlee, developer Castle Green Homes withdrew its application.

The developer lodged plans with the council in December last year, wanting to build 156 three-bedroom homes, 27 two-bedroom homes and 74 four-bedroom homes on the vacant agricultural land, and create space for 514 cars.

Following a consultation period, a petition was set up by residents, which garnered hundreds of signatures in opposition to the development.

Hundreds of objections were also lodged with the council, including from residents, Barrowford Parish Council, Roughlee Parish Council, Barley with Wheatley Booth Parish Council, the Flood Authority, and Lancashire County Council’s Highways Authority.

The main concerns raised were over traffic, access to the site, local infrastructure and flooding risk, as well as destruction of the countryside between the two villages.

However, no objections were raised by Natural England, nor by the Coal Authority, although they did recommend there be several conditions satisfied before any work be carried out should the plans be approved.

Off the back of this, amended plans were submitted in April, five months after the application was lodged, with extra documents amending the layout submitted in May and then in June.

However, Castle Green Homes then withdrew its unpopular application on September 23.

A statement from Roughlee Parish Council read: “Please note that we object most strongly to the above proposal.

“There has been a huge body of objection from local residents of both Pendleside and Barrowford and the Parish Council fully support the key points of objection.

“Specifically our concerns are as follows: The only vehicular access point to the site is off Pasture Lane at a steep narrow point close to the sharp bend at the bottom of the hill. This is a particularly difficult part of Pasture Lane especially in inclement weather.

“Opposite this access point are the allotment gardens and on the proposed development side there is a bank topped by a hedge and trees.

"The construction of any suitable access would result in wholesale destruction of the hedge and trees but would also result in significant numbers of vehicles turning onto a narrow lane just before a sharp bend.

“The Parish Council consider that this would create a traffic hazard. At the moment traffic from Pendleside into Barrowford uses either the lower part of Pasture Lane to the White Bear junction or follows the rat run through the Appleby Drive housing area.

“Both options are unsatisfactory and in parts hazardous and adding another 300 plus vehicles a day onto these routes would make a bad situation dramatically worse.

“At the moment the sharp bend below the proposed site access is a clear demarcation of open countryside from the urban part of Barrowford. The proposed development would constitute a massive intrusion into the countryside outside of the settlement boundary and would be severely detrimental to the landscape of the area and to natural habitats.

“The proposal would clearly add a significant number of houses into Barrowford which already carries a disproportionate amount of new development in the Pendle area.

“The Parish Council believe that the proposed revision of the Local Plan should review the housing requirement figures for the borough and also review the distribution of new housing to avoid an over-concentration of housing in more popular areas.

“Associated with the above point is that the services and facilities serving Barrowford, notably education and GP services, are at or over capacity.

“Any proposal to improve these facilities will take many years to implement and will be needed to deal with developments which have already been approved.

“In summary the Parish Council would earnestly ask that this application be refused.”

The application was withdrawn from Pendle Council’s planning portal on September 23.