Housing estate plans rejected over road safety fears

Plans to build a new housing estate have been rejected by councillors amid concerns it could pose a danger to children walking to and from a school.

An application for a 23-home development on land off Cocker Lane in Moss Side, Leyland, was rejected by South Ribble Borough Council's planning committee.

The Friends of Cocker Lane group said they were "relieved" by the decision but were prepared to "fight on" in the event of an appeal.

Chris Betteridge, acting on behalf of the applicants, said the development came with "a number of improvements to Cocker Lane…which will enhance [it] and provide a safer route for all s – not just those of the proposed development".

He said it would be particularly beneficial for the schoolchildren who currently have "no choice but to walk in the road", the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported.

The committee was told that up to 150 children used Cocker Lane to get to and from school at any one time, usually walking in the road, due to the lack of a footpath between the junction with Birchwood and the proposed development site.

Resident Adrian Dean said a proposed 1.8m-wide pavement was not enough to "safely accommodate the hundreds of school children that walk the lane every school day".

Mother-of-two Abigail Saunders quoted a comment from Moss Side Primary headteacher Andrew Wright, in which he said the estate created a scenario "where an accident is near-certain to occur involving children, either outside our school or on the roads close by".

Addressing committee , Ms Saunders said: "Are you happy to roll the dice…with my child's life":[]}