The reopening of a public inquiry into controversial plans to build a third prison on the border of Chorley and Leyland has been delayed. And there is no new date yet set for it to restart.
The parties involved have now been invited to identify and agree a new five-day period during which the reopened inquiry can be heard. A campaign group fighting to block the plans for the prison – on land close to the existing Garth and Wymott lock-ups in Ulnes Walton – says that it is ready to present fresh evidence it has amassed about highway safety when the event does restart.
It emerged back in January that that assessment was not favourable – and the inspector had agreed with Chorley Council, concluding that the appeal should be dismissed over the damage it would cause to its proposed greenbelt location, as well as the negative impact on the local road network.