BATTLING residents claim a new apartment block would cause massive geological problems in the Meins Road area of Blackburn.

Meins Road Area Residents' Association is fighting plans by Crowther Homes Ltd for a two and three-storey mock Tudor structure with 17 flats and 10 maisonettes.

In its latest move, the association has secured a report from an eminent geologist which warns that the former Heathfield School site on Meins Road is suitable only for shallow foundations.

Any interference with a cap of boulder clay covering the site could cause homes on Meins Road and the Meins Croft estate to slip downhill, while at the same time causing flooding to homes in Heathfield Park, he warns.

Association chairman Michael Saulet said a copy of the report was being sent to Blackburn Council which will discuss whether to grant planning permission on April 18.

Mr Saulet said: "The school used to have floods in the basements, and the site could not take the size of foundations needed for such a large building. "The geologist says that once the cap of boulder clay is opened, it cannot be blocked up again. This would make a large area unstable both above and below the site."

He added that residents were also worried about trees on the site: "The building is supposed to be five metres away from mature trees which have tree preservation orders.

"If foundations were dug to any depth this would interfere with the roots, and if the trees died the root shrinkage would make the ground even more unstable."

The association has vowed to leave no stone unturned in its fight to stop the apartment block, even to the point of warning it will seek a Judicial Review if the council eventually approves the plans.

It has hired a barrister and town planner to argue the case, and has carried out its own traffic survey and contacted police and the county council.

Members have prepared and printed colour brochures setting out the arguments and deluged councillors and other relevant parties with letters.

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