A FIRE station which was closed amid fierce community protests will be turned into housing after town planners gave development the green light.

The land on which Dalton Fire Station formerly stood in Broughton Road has been empty since 2014 when it was closed by Cumbria County Council.

On Tuesday the borough council planning committee approved plans to demolish the fire station and turn it into a three-house terrace.

Planning committee members, and ward councillor for Dalton South, Shaun Blezard, believes the development is a positive one.

He said: "It seems like a good development to use the land. It's just a dead brownfield at the moment, it's a positive step forwards."

The decision to close Dalton Fire Station in June 2014 was met by strong opposition within the town. Dalton had been crewed by its own fire brigade since 1874.

Hundreds of residents signed a petition to protest its closure, and local councillors feared safety would be compromised by the loss of a a local station.

However, pressed to make cuts to their budget, the station was closed, saving the council £200,000 a year.

Since then the site has remained empty and unused. In a report written for the planning committee, the land was described as "a vacant brownfield site which, without redevelopment, is likely to fall into disrepair and become unsightly."

Residents living in nearby Butts Beck raised concerns over the impact the development would have on their quality of life.

One homeowner said: "The development would have a detrimental effect on the natural light into my home."

However, Cllr Blezard was confident the build would be considerate, and had faith in the advice given to the council before it made its decision.

He said: "At the end of the day we listen to the experts and they were happy, so we're happy."

In October 2016 the development also came under fire from the Environment Agency which recommended planning permission be refused due to a high flood risk.

The decision was reversed in December after a revised flood risk assessment was submitted.

Cllr Blezard, who lives in Dalton, said: "I don't remember that particular area flooding myself. Obviously the river goes right past it but there are other parts of Dalton where there is a problem."

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