Chester District

A Compulsory Purchase Order is in place for 70 homes in Chester, to allow the next stage of the Northgate development to proceed, but CPRE Cheshire has questioned the logic of the proposal, suggesting that it would be more appropriate to include more housing and fewer retail units into the proposed development, especially as there are so many existing empty retail units.

New residential areas in the city centre would support local businesses, cut down on the need for commuting, and provide badly needed housing. The Barons Quay development in Northwich, also in Cheshire West and Chester, still has a large number of empty units, and it is feared that a similar outcome might face the retail units in the proposed development in Chester.

Vale Royal District

Plans to build 183 homes in the village of Darnhall, which were rejected by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in 2016 on the grounds that they conflicted with the local development plan, clearly being in conflict with the Neighbourhood Plan.

However, the Verdin Estate took the application to Judicial Review, and the judge has dismissed this objection at appeal, stating that the Secretary of State had failed to supply any ‘rational explanation’ as to why he had dismissed an application which would provide affordable housing and local training and employment opportunities.

Darnhall residents are overwhelmingly opposed to the plans, with three quarters of the adult population signing a petition opposing the plans. The final decision is still pending, with the High Court Judge having issued a 36 page report. The final decision on this case may have national consequences as an assessment of the strength of Neighbourhood Plans.

The recently-completed Barons Quay development in Northwich still has many empty retail units, and Andrew Needham has highlighted the fact that the original plans included riverside apartments, which are not part of the development as it stands. He has called for a reassessment of the project before it proceeds any further, especially in light of the fact that town centre housing is more sustainable than that built in rural areas.

Warrington District

The last few months have been very busy. We have had information meetings for HS2 route 2b.

The consultation on the Warrington Local Plan Preferred Option ended on September the 29th. The actual draft Local Plan will appear next year and any comments on this draft will go forward to a Public Inquiry. Note that if you respond to this consultation, you will need to make a fresh comment at this point, do not rely on the Preferred Option one. At the beginning of the present consultation members were sent a list of the points which I would use and expand on in a CPRE comment. There is currently a government consultation on how housing figures are calculated, and it would be helpful for members to comment on this because Council policies have to conform with National ones.

As a general point, whenever you take part in a pre-application consultation you still need to comment on the actual application when it appears. One of the concerns at the moment is that traffic avoiding the new toll bridges will come through Warrington. I have commented on the Western link road pointing out the problems with this and new roads in general.

Jacqui Johnson

Wirral Society

At Saughall Massie, the re-application for the Fire Station at Saughall Massie has been approved by the Planning Committee, despite massive local opposition.

At Eastham Village, we await the Planning Decision for the loss of Green Belt rugby pitches for enabling development to keep the club alive. This application is complicated by the inclusion of a replacement “Community Facility” for which the Council has pledged some £350,000 if it decides that the planning application should be approved. 

At Storeton Village there is an application for a housing development, the funds from which will again be be “Enabling development” to facilitate the restoration of Storeton Hall which is a listed historic building.

At Thornton Hough, the proposals for a “Retirement Complex” have “gone quiet”. We have kept in touch with the local objectors.

In Hoylake, the Hoylake Golf Resort application continues.

Wirral Council have embarked on another Housing Land consultation. We have been working with the local Conservation Area groups and are trying to find what is going on as the SoS for the Department for Communities and Local Government has announced yet more changes for later this year.

Wirral council’s Local Plan / Core Strategy continues to be in its Draft state. 

The visitor economy is being advocated by the Wirral Council.

Any issues on the Green Belt in the Wirral peninsula, please email:- This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

T Neil Parry, Green Belt Coordinator, The Wirral Society