Planning Application 06/2025/0868 - Land off Garstang Road, Broughton, Preston.
5th of September, 2025
Broughton Parish Councils response to the application as follows:
Dear Sirs,
Re: Planning Application 06/2025/0868 - Land off Garstang Road, Broughton, Preston.
I am writing on behalf of Broughton Parish Council to object to the above planning application.
This proposal is in clear conflict with the adopted Central Lancashire Core Strategy, the Preston Local Plan, and the emerging Central Lancashire Local Plan, which is currently under examination. Policy 1 of the Core Strategy directs new development towards the main urban areas and key service centres. Broughton is not identified as a location for significant growth. The Preston Local Plan provides further protection for the open countryside. Policy EN1 restricts development to that which is necessary for agriculture, forestry, recreation, or other rural uses, and the proposed development does not meet these requirements. In addition, Policy EN2 seeks to protect and enhance existing green infrastructure, to which this site contributes.
The land also falls within the Northern Area of Separation identified in the Central Lancashire Local Plan. The purpose of this designation is to maintain separation between settlements, preserve rural character, and prevent coalescence. Any development on this site would undermine that strategic purpose. The site is not identified for development in the adopted Broughton Neighbourhood Development Plan (BNDP), nor was it allocated in the BNDP review document.
The BNDP consultation process highlighted several community priorities, including provision of a community meeting room and café, improvements to the play area and car park, drainage and landscaping works, allotments, new parks, additional footpaths, and a site for a youth and community building. Some of these have since been delivered, while others remain ongoing aspirations. To progress these projects, the Parish Council approached three local landowners, including the owners of this site, but no response was received. This application offers none of the community benefits identified as priorities by residents, unlike alternative proposals such as the Pinfold Farm development.
The site is also constrained by significant infrastructure, being divided by both a major gas main and a main water pipe, as confirmed in 2022. These constraints limit the developable area, increase delivery risks, and further reduce the site’s suitability.
When the BNDP was adopted in 2018, the Parish Action Plan included objectives for more accessible green spaces, allotments, a community building, and a new car park. The Parish Council therefore approached the owners of three potential sites in the village: this site, Pinfold Farm (phase 3), and the land in front of Old Bank Hall. The owner of the Old Bank Hall site indicated that if planning permission was not granted, they would re-engage with the Parish Council; however, permission was subsequently granted on appeal. The owner of Pinfold Farm was keen to engage, and the current planning permission includes all of the requested facilities, as well as the donation of an additional field to the primary school. By contrast, the owner of the Burrows Farm site did not respond. Since that time, Gladman (acting as the owners’ agent) has met with the Parish Council on two occasions, most recently following the Regulation 14 consultation on the reviewed plan. On neither occasion did they offer any of the village or community amenities proposed within the Pinfold Farm scheme.
Finally, Preston City Council has confirmed that it has a sufficient supply of housing land to meet current requirements. There is therefore no policy justification for releasing this site for development, particularly given its location in open countryside, its conflict with separation policies, and its failure to deliver any meaningful community benefit.
For all of these reasons, the proposed development is unsustainable and contrary to adopted and emerging planning policy. The Parish Council therefore respectfully requests that Planning Application 06/2025/0868 be refused.
Yours sincerely,
Jessica Dibble
Clerk to Broughton In Amounderness Parish Council
Sent for and on behalf of BPC