36 Dean Lane Water Rossendale Lancashire BB4 9RA Data via plota.co.uk

2026/0263 - Proposed Certificate of Lawfulness Approved

Proposal

Construction of two of Natural Flood Management (NFM) interventions - a clay core earth bund and timber sluice to control water levels in an exsting lodge pool. These are designed to reduce flood risk to communities downstream by slowing the flow and attenuating water in the catchment above areas at flood risk. Three ?Communities at Risk of Flooding? will directly benefit from the scheme: Dean Lane, Forest Holme & Lumb, and Whitewell & Piercy, and additional benefits will contribute to wider peak flow reduction downstream on the River Irwell. This site forms part of a 'phase 2' extension of an existing NFM scheme comprised of three sites within the Whitewell Brook catchment which formed 'phase 1' , have already been granted Lawful Development Certificates in 2025 and were delivered over the last year (Peers Clough Farm, Far Bank End Farm and Hoyle Dean Farm). With these three sites complete, they are already delivering flood risk reduction and a host of co-benefits including habitat enhancement, increased biodiversity, improved water quality, carbon sequestration, maintenance of flows during drought periods and more. This additional site (alongside a separate application for an NFM scheme at Far Bank Top Farm), will extend the benefits of Phase 1 with additional interventions across this and the other referenced site to slow the flow of water and temporarily store peak flows in the landscape to reduce flood levels downstream. Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

Received
10 Jul 2026
Approved
1 Sept 2026

Approved on 1 Sept 2026 · Delegated Decision · Last checked 1 Sept 2026

Site constraints 4

Article 4 direction
Immediate Article 4 Direction for small Houses in Multiple Occupation. Named permitted development rights are withdrawn here.
An Article 4 direction withdraws particular permitted development rights, so work that would normally need no application needs one here. Not every council has published its directions.
Habitat network: Network Enhancement Zone 1
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
Also on the record
Inside the Water built-up area; the 1970s provisional farmland map had this area as grade 4, but it predates the buildings here and the current map does not class it as farmland.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No listed building at the site

Checked on 11 September 2026. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England and council datasets, Open Government Licence. A boundary can run through a site and the council holds the definitive record: confirm with the council before relying on this.

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Important details

Council
Rossendale
Application type
Proposed Certificate of Lawfulness
Postcode
BB4 9RA
Received
10 Jul 2026
Validated
10 Jul 2026
Ward
Whitewell And Stacksteads
Case officer
Show
Target decision
4 Sept 2026
Decision
Approved
Decision date
1 Sept 2026
Decision level
Delegated Decision
Applicant
Show
Agent
Mersey Forest

How this decision compares

Decided in 53 days from validation, about the council's usual 53 days. Approved, as 83% of lawful development certificates here are.

61%decided within 8 weeks
83%approved
21decided in the last year

Plota live figures for lawful development certificates decided by Rossendale in the last twelve months, from validation. Rossendale decision record →

Public comments

No public comments yet.

Last counted 1 Sept 2026

Read the comments on the council site ↗

Consultation & key dates

Alt. reference
PP-15076181
Env. assessment
No
Rossendale
Planning Authority Score
1/10
Poor
#293 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Householder decisions

Rossendale is one of the slowest councils in England for householder decisions, ranking #287 out of 296. The council extends the time limit on 75% of applications - one of the highest rates in England. Expect your application to take longer than the standard deadline. Householder applications are slightly less likely to be approved here (88%) than the national average (90%).

Among the slowest councils in England
for householder decisions
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
Rossendale decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
86%
Overall approval rate
Below avg (87%) #197 of 296
88%
Householder approved
Below avg (90%) #222 of 296
27%
Decided in 8 weeks
Below avg (63%) #287 of 296
75%
Extended time limit
Above avg (41%) #293 of 296
85%
Minor dwellings approved
34 decided (1-9 homes)
100%
Major dwellings approved
3 decided (10+ homes)
59%
Change of use approved
17 decided
231
Total decisions
33 refused in the year to March 2026