THE final stages of a public inquiry into the refusal of planning permission for a new ‘mixed-use neighbourhood’ involving 1,200 new homes at Peel Hall, Warrington, is set to resume next month on July 9.
Residents are again being urged to attend the inquiry, which will decide the fate of the the last natural green space in North Warrington, after a surprise adjournment decision that was made to give all parties more time to assess ‘new information’.
The hearing will re-start on Monday, July 9, 1pm, at The Inspiration Suite, The Village Hotel, Centre Park, Warrington. Borough Council officers, landowner Satnam Millennium Ltd, legal representatives and Planning Inspector Richard Schofield will consider further highways and air quality information, including additional modelling work relating to junction 9 of the M62.
“This will be the final stretch of the appeal and we expect it to last up to four days,” said Save Peel Hall campaigner Wendy Johnson-Taylor. “This appeal started in April and its been dragging its feet. It all appears to be down to information submitted by Satnam that is not either up to date, sufficient and not of any significant quality or quantity. Just before the inquiry was adjourned in May we found out that new modelling formats were submitted at the eleventh hour by Satnam and despite its attempts to continue on with the proceedings the Inspector did not agree that our council had been given sufficient time to assess these new findings.”
Fellow campaigner Jim Sullivan voiced his disappointment over the council’s poor support. “Our council’s position is baffling. On one hand it has rejected Satnam’s attempts to develop on Peel Hall on four occasions, which is very welcome. However, on the other hand it included this land within the PDO, which has made life a lot easier for Satnam at the appeal.”
He added: “The Inspector clearly knows his way around. I hope that he can see just how unsustainable this proposal is.” On the concerns over pollution levels he added. “Nobody should be forced to live in the flats or care home that Satnam is proposing. These will be ugly, horribly noisy and exposed to dangerous levels of pollution.”
Jim explained: “In the past month I’ve driven the whole length of the M62 from Liverpool to Hull, the whole length of the M6 from Scotland to the south of England and guess what, I didn’t see any houses on these journeys. We don’t build homes next to motorways for very good reasons.”
Despite the venue change from Orford Hub to ‘the other side of town’, Wendy and Jim urged residents to attend the last few days of the Inquiry.
“We know the Inspector is already impressed by our dedication and attendance. It’s not over yet. This is still important and we are doing all we can to encourage everyone to stand with us and for the fantastic support to continue.” Said Wendy.
The final decision on the future of Peel Hall will be made by Mr James Brokenshire, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Residents rally at Peel Hall
