WARRINGTON Borough Council’s proposed Local Plan is unsound and will result in severe environmental damage.
That is the view of The South Warrington Parish Councils’ Local Plan Working Group.
The Working Group represents Lymm, Grappenhall and Thelwall, Appleton, Stretton, Hatton and Walton Parish Councils.
Chairman of the Group, Cllr Cliff Taylor said: “The consultation period is now over. We believe that what we have said in our submission is the overwhelming view of the people in South Warrington and we now await the Council’s response.
“The Plan proposes to create growth by accepting vast new logistics facilities and allowing new housing on a very large scale. It proposes to take away Green Belt irreversibly to accommodate them. This is supposed to regenerate the town centre but how this will happen is not explained.
“There are no credible plans for improving the road network or changing the way people travel. The environmental damage will be severe.
“We do not think that the Local Plan will achieve the Council’s own objectives and instead it will keep the town in the grip of lorries and cars indefinitely. We cannot follow the reasoning in it. In short, the Local Plan is fundamentally unsound. It should be withdrawn and overhauled from top to bottom to give the town a vision of the future fit for the challenges of the 21st century.”
Thousands of people have raised concerns about the Local Plan, with many also objecting to two huge logistics centres seeking planning permission on Green Belt land in the South.
Local politicians from all three main parties, Labour’s Warrington South MP Faisal Rashid, Conservative Parliamentary candidate Andy Carter and Lib Dem candidate Ryan Bate, have all voiced opposition.
Health is far more important than wealth – please save our Green Belt
