A block of apartments to be built in Bolton has been refused amid uproar on the ‘pointless’ small block housing.
Land of Grizedale Close in Smithills was earmarked for the development.
It would replace bungalows with a four-storey block of 35 flats and eight houses with parking.
Refusing the plans once again, councillors at the planning meeting said nothing had changed since the last time the proposal was put forward and the loss of the biodiversity of the area as well as character, could not be overlooked.
The development would see the loss of trees and only some would be replaced.
The apartments would also fail to meet the minimum size standards set out within the guidelines.
Cllr David Wilkinson said: “When you cut a tree down, I assume you can see the stump so you can see how many trees were there.
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“We also do not want people in little pathetic boxes, so why are we still allowing this?”
Planning officers said they while a tree surveyor did assess the site, they did not look at how many trees were already lost and needed replacing.
Cllr Nick Peel added: “I don’t think residents object to any development on the site but this would be a prolific large building of four storey and not in keeping with the area.”
The public gallery was full of objectors.
Cllr Andy Morgan called it the ‘worse application’ to come before the committee and said it has gone ‘backwards’ since being refused in 2020 for the same reasons.
The plans were refused on the grounds of the loss of biodiversity, and the size of the block of flats within the area which would look incongruous to residents nearby.
The proposal also failed to consider proper resident parking to the councillors, who surmised that neighbours were already frustrated with the parking issues.
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Residents have long objected to the plans and cheered when the plans were once again refused on the same reasons as before.
As many as 10,500 Horwich residents would directly benefit from primary care offered at the centre,
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