£5m Rawtenstall hotel complex wins planning permission

4:59pm Thursday 28th August 2008

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A MULTI-million-pound hotel and housing complex could become a reality after the developer won an appeal to secure planning permission.

Hurstwood had applied to build a 38-bedroomed hotel with a pub and 34 apartments on the site of the former Accrington and Rossendale College in Rawtenstall back in December 2007.

Rossendale Council refused to register the plans, saying it was not a full application.

But Hurstwood appealed against the decision and the planning inspector Anthony Davies, who had heard a public inquiry at Bacup town hall, found the case in their favour and granted outline planning permission for the scheme.

Mr Davies also agreed to grant them a full award of costs meaning that the council will have to pay in the region of £25,000. Hurstwood Chairman Stephen Ashworth said: “The people responsible for this mess ought to apologise not just to us for wasting so much of our time, money and energy, but to the councillors and to the general public.

“This application could, and should, have been dealt with months ago – it could and should have been dealt with in the normal way by our elected councillors.

“The council have also spent a great deal of time and council tax payer’s money on this appeal when they really didn’t need to bother – surely Rawtenstall town centre could have benefited from some of those wasted thousands of pounds.” He added that they had been granted costs in full, likely to be around £25,000.

A council spokesman said: “We are disappointed with the outcome of the appeal.

“The council considered that the applicant had not provided a sufficient level of detail to enable councillors to take an informed view on the applic-ation.

“Our goal throughout has been to ensure that we get high quality appropriate develop-ment in Rawtenstall, which is sensitive to the needs of the nearby conversation area and listed building.”