THE decision to refuse the Co-op store in Feniscowles, Blackburn, was the right decision.
I am one of the residents who would have had to put up with the sound of condensers 24 hours a day, reversing alarms on HGV vehicles and forklift trucks loading and unloading at 5am, increased traffic and on-the-road parking causing hazards on the highway and to pedestrians, schoolchildren and the elderly.
How would anyone like a late shop next door, open from 6am to 11pm serving alcohol and becoming a magnet for all the youth of the area and beyond?
A large area at the rear of the store was also a concern for the police and residents alike.
If the Co-op want a store in this area why don't they open one in the building which used to be Livesey Service Station where they have had planning permission and a licence for the past 12 months?
There is also the loss of the public house to be considered.
The Beechwood area has no community centre, no clubhouse, no residents meeting centre in fact nothing but the public house which the Co-op want to knock down, to build yet another supermarket.
The only place where local residents can get together is the Oak Tree pub.
The application was continually being changed and was full of inaccurate, misleading and unreliable information.
So, to anyone who may think it was not the right decision, I ask them to go and check out all the information held in the file at the council.
You will find reports on non-existent condensers, a population of a fifth of Blackburn living within a 500 metre circle and many more inaccuracies and misleading information.
Residents had the backing of Jack Straw who agreed that the local shops provided for the local needs of residents as required under the council policies.
I was very proud of the planning and highways committee when it voted unanimously to refuse planning permission.
It would have been very easy for councillors to have agreed after all they were dealing with one of the largest retail companies in Europe.
Hyndburn Council previously refused an application from the Co-op to open a late shop in an inappropriate area and now Blackburn has too.
Well done Blackburn and I hope many other councils now find the courage to do the same.
There are more than enough supermarkets in our towns nowadays, our local shops are being lost every day and communities are being ruined.
PAULINE WALTON, Beechwood Drive, Feniscowles.
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