Plans to build six holiday cottages on a Ribble Valley farm have been refused after residents cited fears over road safety.

Woodhouse Bespoke Ltd submitted an outline planning application to the borough council last month to build the cottages at Tan Yard Farm in Hothersall, between Ribchester and Longridge.

The council received a number of responses from neighbours objecting to the proposal, with many describing the safety of the road already being poor and an influx of more people in the area would exacerbate this.

One response said: “This is a very dangerous corner with a history of serious accidents. Traffic entering and leaving the site will cause more danger and accidents.”

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Another said: “There will be an increase in traffic entering and leaving the proposed cottages on a dangerous part of the road with a double bend and a history of accidents.”

Neighbours also cited concerns over flooding, saying the increased run-off from the cottage site will cause further road safety issues for road users and pedestrians.

A response said: “During periods of excessive rainfall the drains are not able to cope with the volume of water, which simply spills out in torrents running downhill, forming rivers and pooling.

“This not only destroys the road surface but is hazardous, especially if it cannot be seen due to the bend in the road if approaching the site from the Ribchester direction.”

These concerns were heard in the council’s rejection of the plans.

In a decision notice, they said the application “failed to demonstrate that safe access can be provided into the site for vehicles and pedestrians.”

They also said it was unknown whether the required sightlines could be achieved on the land and that the location of the separate pedestrian access on a bend is considered unsafe.

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The council also said the visual impact of the site and the site’s poor connectivity to public transport links “is not considered to constitute small-scale tourism appropriate to a rural area.”

They added the development would have a “distinctly urbanising impact on the proposal site and would fail to read as a harmonious addition to the site’s open countryside setting.”

The lodges proposed by Woodhouse Bespoke would have been “small-scale in nature and appropriate to the rural context” according to a planning statement submitted to the council.

The company said they were happy to restrict the occupancy of the lodges to ensure they are retained for holiday/tourism use and cannot be used as permanent accommodation.

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The statement added: “Whilst the erection of new buildings within the countryside will inevitably have an impact, particularly on the openness of the area, in this case, the development will be ‘read’ as part of the existing built form and will not create a visually discordant form of development significant enough to warrant a refusal.”

The applicants have six months to appeal the council’s decision if they wish.

To read the plans in full, visit the council’s planning website.