Council chiefs block 'Auschwitz' plan again (From Warrington Guardian)

Council chiefs block 'Auschwitz' plan again

A HOUSING development that would have looked more at home "in Auschwitz" than Lymm has been blocked by borough councillors.

The latest chapter in the controversial history of plans to build on a field in Longbutt Lane and Oughtrington Lane in the village was written on Wednesday night with councillors again unwilling to give the green light to a building scheme.

Members of the borough council's development control committee blocked yet another set of blueprints after hearing that they looked more like a Victorian workhouse than homes and would still be too high.

Clr Sheila Woodyatt said: "This is prominent and prestigious and we want to see a high quality development. Anyone who has been watching the television will know there were similar buildings in Auschwitz."

It was standing room only as residents packed the Town Hall in protest. They complained that developers, Wilson Connolly Homes, had not talked to them about the scheme and ignored concerns.

Clr Ian Marks said: "The only fair way of resolving these issues is to air them at a full, open public inquiry."

And committee members agreed, throwing the application out.

But they did pass five technical applications for the site, including access routes, an extension to the time when the building works can start and details of landscaping.

The developers had submitted the plans, which lowered the heights of the buildings, three months after a similar plan was rejected.

That scheme is now subject to a public inquiry - and this application is likely to follow suit.

For the full story, read Thursday's Warrington Guardian.