Bolton West MP Chris Green has condemned the council’s planning policy after a controversial housing development was given the go ahead.
The independent public inspector has sided with developers Bellway Homes in their appeal to build 129 homes at Bowlands Hey in Westhoughton after the council agreed that it had not met its own housing supply target – a number set by the council.
The inspector said in his report that he would have to allow the appeal as the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework is still in its early days and so could not carry any ‘meaningful weight.’ The GMSF has been scrapped and is due to be re-written after widespread public anger.
Chris said: “If Cliff Morris had listened to me and everyone else about our concerns with the Spatial Framework over a year ago, it wouldn’t have had to be re-written and we would not be in this mess now.
“Because the council can’t show it’s got any realistic plan for house building, the independent inspector has had to allow this completely inappropriate development to go through.
“I said after the council withdrew their objections to the Hill Lane development in Blackrod that they were setting a dangerous precedent and now it looks like this is becoming true.
“Bolton West is steadily becoming a cash cow for Bolton Council without any investment going to us for our congested roads, creaking public transport and over-flowing schools.”
Councillor Zoe Kirk Robinson said she was ‘disgusted’ by the decision.
She said: “What is the point of us making planning decisions if the inspectorate is just going to overturn every decision we make? What is the point of having a planning committee in these circumstances?
“The Bowlands Hey decision, like the Blackrod decision before it, are wrong and I cannot see how anyone could justify reaching them.
“This will have a devastating effect on our town, its people and its heritage. I’m disgusted.”