STANHILL VILLAGE AND BARRATTS HOMES

That this House notes the strong sense of community in the village of Stanhill near Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire; welcomes moves to develop derelict land in the village in a sensitive and proportionate way; expresses great concern over plans produced by Barratts Homes to build high density housing on the site; deprecates the fact that Barratts have refused to compromise or make any concessions to the concerns of the villagers at meetings with the hon. Member for Hyndburn, local councillors and the villagers themselves; notes that the root cause for this is Barratts' sole concern with profit rather than any concept of corporate social responsibility; further notes that with operating profits of £507.2 million last year Barratts could have afforded some leeway towards local concerns; believes that this is an example of an arrogant and over-powerful big business trampling on the concerns of local villagers; and commends the people of Stanhill on their well-organised and reasonable campaign for low density development in their village; and wishes them well in presenting their case at the planning inquiry.