A DEVELOPER who has been awarded planning appeal costs against Burnley Council today blasted councillors for wasting taxpayers' money by ignoring their officers' advice.

Geoff Hook, of Stonehaven Consultants Ltd, Roughlee, appealed against the council's decision to allow development site access to land at Gorple Street, Harle Syke.

His appeal was upheld and he has been granted costs, estimated at £5,000, against the local authority.

Official Audit Commission figures show that a massive 53 per cent of appeals were successful in Burnley -- the highest in Lancashire and among the top figures nationally. Nationwide the figure is usually about 25 per cent.

Although the proposed development site is immediately behind Briercliffe Working Men's Club with access from Burnley Road it lies within the Pendle Borough boundary.

Mr Hook now plans to appeal against Pendle Council's refusal to determine the application to build 13 houses on the land within the permitted time scale.

He claimed that councillors going against officers ' advice on planning issues was costing Burnley council tax payers up to £50,000 a year.

He added: "I think it is disgusting when they are trying to find money or save money from all over the place. They are blatantly going against officers' advice when they are told they will lose appeals and have to pay the costs."

Planning and development chairman David Halsall said he did not want to comment on that particular case but added: "We do intend to look into the overall situation very closely and very soon. "The committee will be discussing the situation in full with officers and with legal advice.

"I do not want to comment further at this stage."

Mr Hook said the appeal was held only two weeks ago and that the decision had been made so quickly because there were no issues involved. He said: "The council's position was feeble, feeble, feeble, it is a matter of public concern that they are wasting council tax payers' money."

Mr Hook, an architectural consultant in the area for 30 years, is responsible for several prominent buildings in the area including the Mosque, the Thatch and Thistle pub and Equinox club, all in Nelson.

He said it was disappointing when decisions were taken on some kind of political hidden agenda which cost public money.

He said: "I have written to Burnley council director David Brown suggesting that when committee councillors decide a planning application against officers advice that it should go to the full council before a final decision is made."

The appeal inspector said the main issues were the conditions of people living nearby and the safety of children at play.

He found there would be no material increase in noise or disturbance by traffic on Gorple Street and as far as child safety was concerned he had no reason to suppose that occupiers of new development would not take appropriate care.

He was, therefore, granting the appeal for access to the site.

The council had produced no evidence to sustain its assertion there would be an unacceptable increase in traffic affecting highway safety.