Burnley rejects McDermott’s 44-house plans

McDermott Developments had wanted to build the homes on the site of the old Lancashire County Council Isaac Centre, which closed in 2012.

The controversial scheme had sparked protests from a handful of residents and two councillors. Even the area’s MP, Antony Higginbotham, noted his objection to the project, saying that the site had not previously been identified as suitable for development and that a scheme of such size would negatively impact public services and traffic.

The application was rejected at Burnley Council’s planning committee meeting on 9 September. This was contrary to the planning officer’s recommendation. The council said that planning permission was refused because it was contrary to part of Burnley’s Local Plan because there were not sufficient education and medical facilities in the area to support the development.

McDermott’s plan was to erect 12 houses off Harrogate Crescent, and a further 32 homes being built on a new road opposite of 46 and 48 Harrogate Crescent. Of the 44 homes, 38 would have been a mixture of three- and four-bedroom detached houses, while six were set to be semi-detached with three bedrooms. All the homes would have been red brick.

Smith & Love were the planning consultants on the scheme.