Burnley approves solar farm, housing

Andrew Brown Leisure found success with its plans to build a 1 MW facility behind its Crow Wood site off Holme Lane, as did Baxi Heating with its proposals to build 40 homes in Padiham.

Burnley Council approved both of the schemes at a planning meeting last Thursday. These decisions were made in line with officer recommendations.

Crow Wood Hotel

Application number: FUL/2023/0332

The management team at Crow Wood Hotel, Spa and Leisure Resort can now progress with their efforts to limit the resort’s contribution to climate change.

Andrew Brown Leisure has been granted approval to build a 1 MW solar farm behind the complex, covering four acres of Green Belt land off Holme Lane.

Proposals feature 1,978 solar panels and a transformer, with the capacity to create 1.12 KW of energy to power the wider Crow Wood site.

It is estimated that the facility will take around 10 weeks to construct and have operate for 40 years.

Burnley Council approved the application last week, but only narrowly.

A motion to refuse the scheme due to unacceptable impact on the Green Belt was moved and seconded at the meeting. However, this motion was lost at a vote with only three councillors voting for refusal compared to six votes against.

Kirkwells is advising on the proposals. Penny Bennett is the landscape architect.

Land off Grove Lane

Application number: OUT/2023/0294

Baxi Heating will now progress with its plans to build up to 40 homes on the five-acre site off Grove Lane.

Partly formerly occupied by its research and development building in Padiham, most of the land is allocated for development apart from a small section within the Green Belt.

An illustrative site layout, drawn up by Matthew Montague Architects, indicates that there will be a mix of house types including detached, semi-detached, and terraced houses.

Residents will also be provided with parking provision through both garages and parking bays.

Proposals are a resubmission of an earlier-approved scheme that called for 40 homes on the site. This earlier application was approved in 2020, however the permission lapsed in May this year.

DLP Planning is advising on the plans.