Feniscowles holiday village approved

Whitefield-based developer Castleland has been granted planning permission by Blackburn with Darwen Council to build 94 holiday lodges and a leisure centre along with three man-made lakes in Feniscowles, Lancashire.

The project was scaled down from 120 lodges and five lakes after an initial refusal due to objections from local residents. The site became an illegal fly-tipping site in the late 1990s. The redevelopment will include a large woodland.

Michael Lewis, director of Casteland, said: "Before construction starts the land requires a full programme of remediation and redistribution of materials on the site. This will start once the programme has been agreed with the environment agency and environmental health officer. We expect the site will be fully developed within four years. The contractors will go through a tendering process but we are working hard to ensure we use local companies and local employers wherever possible."

The 112-acre site, known as Pleasington Lakes, is located four miles to the south west of Blackburn town centre, just off Brokenstone Road.

The scheme was designed Derek Hicks & Thew, led by Alan Varley, and Pauline Randall from Randall Thorp, landscape architects.