WARRINGTON Borough Council’s latest version of the Local Plan is “unsound and not fit for purpose.”
That’s the view of the South Warrington Parish Councils’ Planning Working Group.
Parishes in the south of the borough have joined together in collaboration as a response to the huge public reaction against the first version of the Plan published in 2017.
They believe a collective view will carry more weight in trying to get changes to the proposals.
Group chairman Cllr Cliff Taylor said: “Little has changed in the new version. It still involves the loss of large parts of the Green Belt and green spaces in South Warrington. It still involves a ‘Garden Suburb’ and large logistics sites. There is no clear plan to improve local roads. The character and distinctiveness of the area will be dramatically changed for ever. We accept that some development will have to take place but we believe there are better and less harmful ways of doing it.
“We have delivered copies of our leaflet to homes in the south of the town. This gives advice on how to submit representations to the consultation in ways that we think will be most effective. We ran our first pair of back-to-back briefing session for residents at Lymm High School last Saturday.
“The next ones are planned for Saturday (May 4) at Bridgewater High School Upper Site Main Hall starting at 1.30pm and then at 3.30pm.
“The final session is on Thursday May 9 also at Bridgewater School starting at 7.30pm. We urge anyone who is interested to come along but we are also want people to attend one of Warrington Council’s sessions at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
“In summary we do not think the Plan is sound. There is no justification for the predicted growth, there is too much housing and employment land allocated and there is no need for so much Green Belt release. There is no need for development that will harm the environment and which destroys the character of our villages and there is no clarity over the means of delivery. We understand that there is an urgent need for a credible Local Plan, but this is not it. We urge Warrington Council to take notice of what we are saying and modify the Plan before putting it in front of the Inspector.
“We are working closely with the ‘Rethinking South Warrington’s Future’ group which is an umbrella organisation bringing together resident and protest groups from various areas. We are all working hand-in-hand to deliver a Plan that is right for our residents and protects our villages and green spaces.”
Green Belt land under threat at Lymm
