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Government minister: "Build homes in Blackpool town centre"
COUNCILS should regenerate neglected town centre areas before putting new homes on the outskirts, a Government minister has warned.
The statement came during a Parliamentary debate into plans to build hundreds of homes on Marton Moss.
Junior Communities Minister Ian Austin said he could not comment directly on the application by Kensington Developments because it is still going through the planning system.
But he said local authorities should "normally use previously developed land first" when it came to building.
He was speaking during a debate in Westminster Hall on Wednesday, called for by Blackpool South MP Gordon Marsden.
The Fylde development giant has applied for permission to build 570 homes on land off Moss House Road.
Mr Marsden agrees with the scheme's opponents and has called for homes to be built in inner wards instead.
The MP added: "Blackpool's regeneration is a key issue for everyone in the town and we should be looking positively at ways to take it forward.
"That's why I have repeatedly urged the council to engage positively in alternative options to its obsession with building on the periphery."
Mr Austin said it was the council's job to decide an "appropriate balance between urban brownfield sites and new greenfield sites."
The minister added: "The Government has made it clear to local planning authorities, they should normally use previously developed land first.
"Neither the council nor the Government should give up on regenerating Blackpool's inner area as an alternative to additional greenfield development."
He added: "Blackpool faces its own unique housing challenges in its inner areas, particularly arising from the high number of houses in multiple occupation."
Blackpool Council leader Coun Peter Callow said he supported development in inner areas but it was much more costly.
He added: "If you're going to knock down whole swathes of our inner areas, it will cost money. I'm extremely happy to go down that route but we estimate we need something like 350m to make a sizeable start on this."
A bid for 35m to redevelop the Tyldesley Road area for housing is with the Homes and Communities Agency.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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