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 6

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 Named permitted development rights are withdrawn here.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.
Radon affected area, class 5
An estimated 10 to 30% of homes reach the radon action level. Indicative for the 1 km square, which takes the highest class found in it; a radon test gives the answer for a building.
From the British Geological Survey and UK Health Security Agency indicative atlas. Under building regulations, as the BRE guide BR 211 (2023) sets out, new buildings and extensions need basic radon protection from class 3 in England and Wales and from class 2 in Scotland, and full protection from class 5. The class at the site itself, from the detailed BGS map, decides which.
UKHSA radon ↗
Also on the record
Coalfield, development low risk area; Inside the Water built-up area; Natural England's Provisional ALC map (1:250,000, 1970s) 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 6 October 2026. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Mining Remediation Authority, the British Geological Survey and UK Health Security Agency (radon, contains BGS materials © UKRI) 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 56 days. Approved, as 83% of lawful development certificates here are.

59%decided within 8 weeks
83%approved
35decided 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
Planning Portal ref
PP-15076181
Statutory expiry
4 Sept 2026
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