Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for Absence were given by Councillors Josh Allen, Scott Brerton and Joyce Plummer.

Councillor Danny Cassidy substituted for Councillor Allen

Councillor Heather Anderson substituted for Councillor Brerton.

The Minutes of the last Planning Committee held on the 11^th of March 2026 were submitted for approval as a correct record.

Recommended – That the minutes be received and approved as a correct record.

The Minutes of the last Planning Committee held on the 11^th of March 2026 were submitted for approval as a correct record.

Resolved – That the minutes be received as a correct record.

The Chief Planning and Transportation Officer submitted a series of reports setting out the recommended action on the planning applications below.

FULL: Conversion to 6no, 1 bedroom apartments, rear single storey infill extension, external alterations and creation of 2no parking spaces.

Mr Joshua Parkinson, Planning Manager (Development Manager), presented the application to the committee. The application related to the former Lord Longworth Public House located on 6-8 Thomas Street in Oswaldtwistle. The site is approximately 0.06 ha and has a single storey rear outrigger and adjoins land previously used as part of the public house for outdoor seating.

The application sought consent to convert the building into 6no. 1-bedroom apartments and various external alterations including a single storey infill extension to the rear.

The submitted floor plans show 4no. apartments to the ground floor and 2no. apartments to the first floor.

Each apartment is shown to have a single bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living room, of varying floorspace; ranging from 38m2 to 43.5m2. Each apartment is shown to have a separate external access with the ground floor units accessed from either Thomas Street or Peel Street. The first-floor units have separate access points including an existing external staircase to the rear/ northwest and an internal staircase via the northwestern elevation, both accessed via Thomas Street.

The application proposes a single-story infill extension to close the gap between the two outriggers to the rear and aligns with the rear of the building in projection.

The extension is to be used as a bathroom associated with one of the ground floor apartments, while adding to the existing flat roof terrace at first floor level.

Other external changes include 4no. new windows (one to each elevation) and 2no. new doors all at ground floor. A single window is proposed to the southern elevation at first floor level.

1no parking space has been proposed off Thomas Street to the north of the building. Bins and cycle storage is shown to the rear of the building close to the external staircase.

No objections were received by Hyndburn Borough Councils Environmental Health Team, Lancashire County Council Highways or Cadent Gas.

One objection was raised by a member of the public which raises concerns regarding the potential tenants of the property.

The application was recommended for approval with the conditions listed in the agenda.

Members discussed the application and agreed that bringing the building back into use was a positive, especially considering there are other local pubs close by. However, the lack of parking provided in the plans raised concerns as members were aware of the existing demand on parking without the addition of 6 new properties.

Resolved – Members voted to approve the officer recommendation and grant planning permission subject to the conditions noted in the report.

N.B. – 1. Councillor Stephen Smithson – Spoke against the application.

·         The Parking Standard usually requests 1 parking space for each flat. Only 1 space is provided in the plans. This is not suitable for the number of flats proposed.

·         2 Local schools increase the number of cars on the road during drop of and pick up time.

·         On street parking is already at a premium.

     2. Tahir Satia – Spoke in support of the application.

·         Lancashire County Councils Highway  ...  view the full minutes text for item 369.

Full: Change of use from dwelling (use Class C3a) to residential care for (Use Class C2) for two children.

Mr Joshua Parkinson, Planning Manager (Development Manager), presented the application to the committee. The application related to a three-bed semi-detached dwelling (No.19 Fielding Lane) situated within a corner plot adjacent to the junction of Fielding Lane and Hornby Street.

The application proposes a change of use from an existing dwelling to a residence providing care for two children, aged between 8 and 18. According to the information submitted with this application, care will be provided by two carers who will be present in the home providing 24-hour care on a rolling basis.

18 Letters of objection, 1 petition and 1 support letter were received and are detailed on pages p23 – p25 of the agenda.

No objections were received from the following organisation; Heritage Advice (Growth Lancashire, Lancashire County Council Highways, Cadent Gas.

Comments were made by Lancashire County Councils Children’s Services on page 26 of the agenda.

Mr Parkinson advised that the application conflicts with Policy 1 and 2 of the Children’s Home Supplementary Planning Guidance but this has little weight when compared to the consistent appeal decisions made by the planning inspectorate.

Members discussed the frequency of these types of applications and their impact on local residents. Members acknowledged that the Supplementary Planning Guidance for Children’s Homes had not been afforded as much weight as they had hoped by the inspectorate in appeal decisions. Members caveated that children’s homes are needed and all children deserve the best start in life but the lack of need in the local area combined with the additional strain on local services was negatively impacting local residents.

Resolved – Members voted approve the officer recommendation and grant planning permission subject to the conditions noted in the report and update sheet.

N.B. – 1. Councillor Steven Smithson – Spoke against the application.

·         Parking is notoriously difficult.

·         The driveway is often blocked and so will not be able to be utilised as per the applications plans.

·         Lancashire County Councils Children Service states we do not need any additional children’s homes.

2. Andrea Hibbert – Spoke against the application.

·         Lived at the neighbouring property for 27 years.

·         Loss of community feel.

·         Lancashire County Councils Children’s Services state there is no need for more children’s homes in this area. Wants to see the property used by local people.

·         Increased pressure on services due to children being placed from out of the area.

·         Care homes are a for profit business not family homes.

The update sheet was noted by the committee.

To update the Planning Committee on the work of the Planning Enforcement Service.

Mr Joshua Parkinson, Planning Manager (Development Manager) presented the Enforcement Update to the committee.

Mr Parkinson advised that as of the 31^st of March 2026 there had been a reduction of 58 cases by the planning enforcement team.

There are currently 397 live investigations in the system.

Mr Parkinson highlighted the report which details a number of cases and their current status.

Mr Parkinson informed the committee that the planning team are looking to hire an additional part-time Planning Enforcement Officer in the next quarter. This will help with overall capacity and enable the continued reduction of live enforcement investigations.