Stables battle finally ends

A LONG-running battle over plans for stables on Green Belt land at Culcheth, near Warrington had ended in victory for applicant Julie Twist.
Members of the borough council’s planning committee approved the scheme despite strong opposition from nearby residents.
Their decision cleared the way for three stables and a store room, together with hard-standing, on land off Petersfield Gardens.
Committee members put off a decision on several occasions and visited the site twice before giving consent.
In addition to neighbours, there was also opposition from Culcheth and Glazebury Parish Council and Twiss Green Primary School.
Objectors claimed the proposed development would be inappropriate in the Green Belt, that increased traffic would cause danger in a residential area and near to a school, that mud would be deposited on roads and there would increased noise.
They condemned the proposed development as a “blot on the landscape.”
Over the last two years, two similar proposals, involving first 10 and later eight, stables have been rejected.
Planning officers recommended the scheme be approved and pointed out the planned stable block had been re-sited and reduced in size. Only three horses would be accommodated instead of eight and stables would, in any event, be acceptable in the Green Belt and would have no detrimental impact on the character of the area.