Protests over plans to extend lead factory near town centre

Two separate sets of plans have been submitted to Barnsley Council for the proposed extension of Pogmoor Works in Stock's Lane, which both involve adding an 18,000 sq ft extension to the factory to house new production lines, storage facilities and offices.

The blueprints also include proposals to create 72 new car parking spaces and cycle parking facilities at the site. The only difference between the two sets of plans is the point of access – one proposal involves accessing the plant from Stock's Lane, and the other would involve creating an access route from West Road.

Town planners have advised that the plans which relate to the access road from Stock's Lane should be given the go-ahead when they are considered by councillors at a planning committee meeting on Tuesday.

However, locals opposing the extension say the factory has already expanded, is "already too big" and "should be on an industrial estate" rather than in a mixed residential and industrial location.

Six individual letters of objection have been submitted to Barnsley Council in relation to the development, as well as a petition bearing 140 signatures.

Those against the plans say there is "already too much industry in this residential area", the extension will create additional noise, the building work would lead to the loss of trees and green space, and the extension could lead to an increase in traffic which would "cause nuisance to nearby residential occupiers".

Planning officers, however, say that the extension complies with planning policy and "would allow continued use of the works, which is a viable and sustainable development and will increase manufacturing and employment".

In the planners' report, which is set to go before next week's meeting, they say: "This is a long-established factory that has a general industrial use.

"The proposed extension would provide storage facilities with highly automated picking lines to increase efficiency.

"The applicant points out that Pogmoor Works has existed for over 60 years and is well-linked to existing bus services and cycle routes."

The report adds that, while the extension to the factory would increase traffic along the "relatively narrow" Stock's Lane, the road already provides access to businesses, St Mary's Primary School and several hundred houses, so extra traffic generated by the proposed extension would not be "significantly harmful to the amenity of residents.

"It would be very difficult to provide evidence that this proposal in isolation would be a source of sufficient nuisance to justify refusal of planning permission", the planners say.

"It is acknowledged that Stocks Lane and its junction with Summer Lane are busy during peak times and are not particularly well suited to the type and levels of traffic that currently use them.

"However, it is not considered that the traffic generated by the extension would have a significantly detrimental impact on the safety and ease of movement of vehicles or pedestrians using the network, over and above the existing situation."

The town planners have recommended that the plans for the Stock's Lane access are chosen over those for the West Road access, as the latter would "lead to the unnecessary loss of a group of trees" and also affect a public right of way".