A scheme to build 93 homes to extend Galgate village has been given planning permission.
The outline planning application for a new development in fields near Meadow Park was approved at a meeting at Morecambe Town Hall on Monday.
Lancaster City Council had received hundreds of objections to the plans and seven people, including local councillor Paul Tynan, spoke against them at Monday's meeting of the council's planning regulatory committee.
Stephen Harris from Emery Planning spoke in favour of the application.
It was proposed by Councillor Catherine Potter that the plans be approved subject to conditions, which was then passed by a vote of nine to four with one abstention, by the cross-party committee of elected local councillors.
Wainhomes (North West) Limited has said the development on the 5.6 hectare site at the northern edge of Galgate will include 28 affordable units.
Vehicular access to the development would be provided from a priority-controlled junction off Highland Brow.
An illustrative layout of the plans. Image: MCK Associates Ltd for Wain Homes
A Lancaster City Council report by council officers, published ahead of the meeting, said objections have been made on grounds including that the "highway network is not capable of supporting the significant increase in traffic"; the "area is liable to flooding and there have been significant floods", the "impact on tranquil setting to the Lancaster Canal", "impact on red listed species including lapwings, sparrow hawks, buzzards...amphibians and small mammals, bats and birds", "schools and doctors' surgeries are already oversubscribed", and "traffic and light pollution will increase".
The letter of support said the scheme "delivers 93 much-needed homes of which 28 are affordable" and "will support the vitality of Galgate...with Lancaster University nearby and strong transport links via the A6 and M6, Galgate is ideally positioned to accommodate sustainable growth that relieves pressure on the city centre and reduces commuting distances for local workers and families".
A statement submitted with the plans says: "The application site would be an extension to Galgate."
There have been previous planning applications for this site.
In October 2022, Lancaster City Council refused planning permission for 115 homes.
A subsequent application for 108 dwellings was also refused and an appeal was lodged with the government's planning inspector. This was dismissed on the grounds of flood risk.
"In all other respects the appeal was considered acceptable by the Planning Inspectorate," says the council report.
The applicant's statement says: "With the layout change the issue of flood risk has been addressed so the planning history demonstrates that this application can now be approved."
The council report says: "It has been demonstrated that the development can be safe from flood risk and that the development would not result in flood risk elsewhere over the lifetime of the development.
"It is considered that the benefits of the proposal do outweigh the identified harms, and for that reason, officers recommend that outline planning permission ought to be granted.
"The provision of up to 93 dwellings to meet identified needs at a time when the council cannot demonstrate an adequate supply of housing, weighs substantially in favour of the development.
"The proposal also includes contributions to make off-site improvements to public open space facilities, along with the provision of new public open space infrastructure within the site itself, all of which benefits the wider community as well as future residents of the development.
"The applicant has demonstrated that a safe and suitable access can be provided subject to precise details being secured by condition and the impacts of development traffic would not lead to safety concerns or have residual cumulative impacts that would be severe on the local or strategic highway network."
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