Overview

• The withdrawal followed a planning officer’s report to Hyndburn’s committee recommending refusal on Green Belt grounds.
• Head of planning Adam Birkett warned the scheme would erode openness and remove meaningful separation between Accrington/Oswaldtwistle and Blackburn, with the site covering about 71% of the gap.
• Officers also cited risks to protected trees and groundwater, excessive car parking and transport impacts, gaps in archaeological assessment, and a lack of renewable or low‑carbon measures.
• The latest application proposed a 45‑acre site with 12,250 plots, attracted 1,415 objections, and had been scheduled for debate next week.
• An earlier 2021 proposal for 84 acres and 35,000 plots was withdrawn, and even the scaled‑back plan would exceed the size of the Gardens of Peace in east London, Britain’s largest existing Muslim cemetery.