The decision on a controversial housing plan near the historic Furness Abbey rumbles on as a conclusion is set for later this year.

The inquiry, which has taken place at Barrow Town Hall since Tuesday, is regarding the appeal from housing developers, Story Homes, to build 38 dwellings on a site around Manor Road and Rating Lane, Barrow.

The housing plan has received criticism from campaigners over how close they could be to the historic attraction of Furness Abbey and the listed assets within the area.

The plans were rejected back in December 2014 by Barrow Borough Council's Planning Committee, and was deemed to present an "unacceptable" impact to the area.

Witness Called

In today's hearing, Story Homes referred to another witness, Mr Jason Clemons, of CgMs Consulting, who answered questions regarding the heritage of the listed assets on the appeal site.

He has argued in his report that the experience Furness Abbey is limited from parts of the appeal site and therefore would not cause significant harm to the assets.

Mr Clemons looked to help address three apparent issues in heritage regarding the abbey wall, manor farm house and conservation area.

With regard to the conservation area, Mr Clemons said: "The extent of the conservation area that can be experienced from the appeal site is limited.

"It is my opinion, having assessed the significance of the conservation area and the detail of the proposal, development will result in a minor degree of harm the overall character."

Mr Clemons also noted that the abbey wall was 'majestic in parts', but that it was not in the same condition around the appeal site.

On the opening day of the inquiry this week, one of the representatives for Story Homes, Mr Roger Lancaster, said that any minor harm would not be 'unacceptable'

Campaigners 'confident'

One of the main campaigners against the plans, Paul Littlewood, part of the Stop Manor Road Public Housing campaign, said the upcoming site visit could prove critical to the outcome.

He said: "I think the crux of this will be the site visit. 

"We are still confident that we can win and hopefully we can prevail."

The inquiry is set to conclude in a session on March 10, at Barrow Town Hall, where both parties will sum up their cases and presiding inspector, Richard McCoy, is expected to reach a decision.

Linked Article:  The original plans submitted by Story Homes

Linked Article:  The petition against the plans by campaigners