A ROW has flared at Warrington over a minor planning application put forward by controversial developers Satnam – the firm behind the scheme for 1,200 houses at Peel Hall.
Four nearby residents had lodged objections to the company’s retrospective application for a fence at Birch Avenue, Orford.
Cllr John Kerr-Brown has asked that the matter be deferred until ownership of the land in question is settled. He also says the fence is poorly constructed and totally out of character with neighbouring properties.
Objectors say the fence has a detrimental impact on highway safety and residential amenity and there is a question over ownership of the land.
They believe the fence would create a dangerous precedent, that it will cause parking issues in Birch Avenue, will hinder refuse collections and leaves the land open to fly tipping.
Planning officers say the development is minor in nature, meets expected standards of design and preserves the character of the area. They are recommending the scheme be approved.
Chairman of Warrington Nature Conservation Forum Geoff Settle is one of the objectors.
He said there were a couple of issues about the site, which Satnam bought from the NHS about eight years ago.
There was a possibility of bats in the area and trees which needed to be preserved. In addition, the new fence appeared to be in the wrong place. An earlier fence, from NHS times, was still there, although overgrown and there was a discrepancy of 10 yards between the old fence and the new.
The new fence looked out of place in the avenue and had a “curious indentation” in it which appeared to be a space for a car.
Mr Settle said it looked as though Satnam had made a mistake about the location of the boundary and he hoped councillors had been out to check these and other issues.
A postponement was needed to check the ownership issue.
*Satnam have been seeking permissi0n for up to 1,200 homes, a food store, drinking establishment, restaurant, etc at Peel Hall for years. Permission was refused in 2017 and an appeal has subsequently been dismissed.
