A LONG-running battle to save a “green oasis” has reached a critical stage.
Members of the Save Our Field action group at Stockton Heath have submitted an application for the open space known locally as Cartwright’s Field to be designated as a village green.
But Warrington Housing Association, which won planning consent to build affordable homes on the site back in 2008, but has never implemented the scheme, is seeking an extension to the three year time limit.
Stockton Heath Parish Council, which objected to the original scheme, believes the original consent should be allowed to lapse pending the outcome of the Village Green application.
Spokesman for the action group Phil McConnell says the site, off Chester Road and Montclare Crescent, has become even more a wildlife haven since it was fenced in 2009.
He says 77 residents, representing more than 200 local users, have submitted evidence that they had used the field regularly since 1947.
It is likely a public inquiry will have to be held to consider the Village Green bid.
Picture shows local residents who are campaigning for Village Green status on the field.
9 Comments
It is interesting to note that an application for village green status was made at the time of a planning application for housing. Makes me think that this is just a ploy to stop development. If this land was truly a village green an application to confirm its status would have gone in years ago.
Why? Is it now necessary for the residents of Warrington to confirm the status of every piece of grass in the town to stop a house being built on it?
Affordable housing – fenced off site – think back to the site in Lymm, where the planners refused two applications from a developer for two storied houses on the grounds they would “spoil tuilt the local amenity”. The developer promptly fenced the site and left it for while – then lo and behold the planners put on their thinking caps and said they were minded to approve an affordable housing scheme of houses with three storeys because the fence around that site had become an eyesore. We should be used to our puzzling planners by now, in their world everything is not what it seemsand they have no wish to enlighten us. Planning should not be a game of cat and mouse with developers and planners collaborating in trying to delude or wrong foot the public. It should be an open and transparent process with full disclosure to enable a full and reasonable debate.
There seems to be a misunderstanding as to the point of an application to register land as a Green. The idea of Village Green status is to protect well used open space from development. If there were no threat of development there would be no need for the application – people would just carry on using the field for leisure as they have for the last 60 years.
As someone looking from the outside, I’d support these people because we really do need areas like this. It’s a quality of life issue, a point that many these days just don’t understand.
Who actually owns the land.
The field is owned by Warrington Borough Council.
I take it they have not sold it to the Warrington Housing Association yet then ? In 2008 it was reported on here that they were going to sell the land valued at t £1.6 million – to Warrington Housing Association for £1 subject to planning permission. Just to show that is not one of my typos… ONE POUND !!!!
Pressure from residents caused the Executive Board of the Council to delay the transfer of the land to WHA until the Village Green application had been determined. The transaction was a bit of financial cloak and dagger work that allowed the Council to realise £1.6m of section 106 sums (cash from developers in return for not meeting affordable housing quotas on other projects in Warrington) into their capital account. Some might say it was a ill-conceived short-term plan by the Council to help their budget 3 years ago at the expense of a valuable asset.