Former Fleetwood Pier objections hit 540

Objections to plans to build flats on the former Fleetwood Pier site have dwarfed the number for the original application.
Fleetwood councillors and residents who opposed a block of flats on the former Fleetwood Pier site celebrate after the scheme was rejected in JanuaryFleetwood councillors and residents who opposed a block of flats on the former Fleetwood Pier site celebrate after the scheme was rejected in January
Fleetwood councillors and residents who opposed a block of flats on the former Fleetwood Pier site celebrate after the scheme was rejected in January

More than 540 have so far registered their opposition to the proposals by Simmo Developments, which includes some minor amendments to the application refused by Wyre planners in January.

There were 200 objections to the original scheme.

Simmo, a consortium headed by Mike Simmons, aka comedian Joey Blower, wants outline planning permission to build 15 flats for the 55s and over on the site it leases from Wyre Council.

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The actual pier building, bought by Simmo in 2007 for £500,000, burnt down in 2008 and the site has been empty since then.

Objectors so far include Fleetwood Town Council, Fleetwood Civic society and the town’s MP, Cat Smith, who has even made it easier for people to object by clicking on a designated link on her website.

Fleetwood resident Yvonne Johnstone, of Abbotts Walk, is also among those who have registered their objections to the latest planning application, likely to go before planners in June or July.

She said: “Like a lot of people in this town, I am unhappy about this scheme being submitted again.

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“It is hardly any different to one already rejected in January and that this new application is a clear waste of council tax payers’ money.”

Some Fleetwood residents on social media are in support of the scheme and believe it will be an asset to the seafront, suggesting it is only a relatively small number of residents who oppose the plans.

But Mrs Johnstone said; “There are nearly three times as many objectors this time around, it is clearly not just a few people, and there are still several months to go.”

Simmo’s earlier version of the apartment scheme was rejected by planners because its height, scale, mass, design and appearance would appear as an obtrusive form of development on a prominent promenade location, out of keeping with the Fleetwood Conservation Area.

The pier flat planning reference number is 17/00126/OUTMAJ.