What has happened so far?

The Pennine Lancashire Housing Zone was designated by Government on the 11 November 2016, comprising eight locations across four local authorities (Blackburn, Hyndburn, Burnley and Pendle). All locations are closely aligned to the M65 growth corridor and are strategically important sites that will support the economic ambitions of the county, providing growth in both employment and housing markets across Pennine Lancashire.

Huncoat has been identified as the location of the housing zone within Hyndburn – this project is called Huncoat Garden Village.  Huncoat has the potential to deliver sustainable housing and community development due to its strategic location near the M65, the train station and its potential to connect to key north / south and east / west rail routes, combined with the presence of large areas of brownfield land.

The boundary of the Huncoat Garden Village proposal is outlined in red on the plan and includes the former Huncoat Colliery and Huncoat Power Station sites (both of which are allocated for development within Hyndburn’s Core Strategy, adopted by the Council in 2012), in addition to a large area of undeveloped land to the west and south of the former power station. The Masterplan will ensure that the Garden Village integrates well with the wider Huncoat, Altham, Accrington and Hapton areas.

The Hyndburn Core Strategy sets the strategic policy framework for development in the Borough up to 2026. The Core Strategy is currently being reviewed to refresh out of date policies, update the housing and employment land requirements and determine an updated spatial strategy up to 2036.  A Site Allocations Development Planning Document (DPD) will be produced alongside the Core Strategy review.  Proposals for Huncoat will be translated into planning policy through this Local Plan review process.   

Developing a Masterplan for Huncoat Garden Village

Hyndburn Borough Council is working in partnership with Lancashire County Council and Homes England to progress the Huncoat Garden Village proposal.

In 2018, Hyndburn Borough Council appointed Arcadis consultants (including Avison Young) to prepare a Masterplan for Huncoat Garden Village, which will help inform the Local Plan Review process.

The Masterplan will identify which areas of Huncoat are suitable for development, highlight infrastructure improvements that may be necessary (for example improvements to the road network, provision of school places, health care facilities or open space), and it will establish a high level delivery strategy.

The consultation material shown during the public consultation events in November 2018 can be viewed here.

Feedback from the November 2018 public consultation can be found here.

Feedback from workshops and continued public consultation during February 2019 can be found here.

For information about the current Masterplan, click here