‘Scrap homes plan’ demand to council

In a joint statement, 10 groups, including Defend Lytham, the Lytham St Annes Civic Society and Queensway Environmental Defenders (QED) united to object to the Local Plan to 2030: Part 1 – Preferred Options, calling for it to be halted and an amended report to be put forward.

Fylde’s Local Plan 2030 presents several key sites for housing, employment or of mixed use up until 2030.

It was under a period of consultation with residents, which closed on Thursday.

But major concerns from many protest groups and residents relate to the number of homes being built and their location, with around 1,100 set to be built in Warton, increasing its size by 75 per cent.

The statement said: “We deplore the failure of Fylde Council to present for consultation an evidenced and justified assessment of the number of new homes required for the period to 2030.

“We therefore call on Fylde Council to suspend the current consultation and withdraw the Preferred Options until it is able to support it with its own declared housing requirement together with its related evidence and reasoned justification. An amended Preferred Options, together with the housing requirement, should only then be re-presented for public consultation.”

A Fylde Council spokesman said: “We have received many consultation responses in formulating the deferred local plan and all will be taken into account.”