A COMMUNITY has been deprived of jobs and leisure time after planing permission for a hotel, conference centre and leisure facility were refused, it has been claimed.
Hervey Magnall owns the Fisherman's Retreat and Twine Valley Fisheries on the moors above Shuttleworth.
He wanted to develop the site and although he got permission from Rossendale Council, junior Government Minister Sally Keeble agreed with a planning inspector that the plans for Green Belt land should not go ahead.
They decided there was not special circumstances to revoke the Green Belt restrictions.
Hervey said: "They have robbed the community of jobs and leisure time.
"At Twine Valley we have tried to create an oasis in Lancashire and everybody has supported us wholeheartedly -- including the council.
"We have put hours and hours and thousands and thousands of pounds into this but at the end of the day two people have made this decision when thousand have been in favour of it.
"All we wanted to do was put more back into the community which is what we would have done."
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