Villagers draw up battle plans to fight “fortress” development

VILLAGERS at Houghton Green are hoping to thwart a second attempt to gain outline planning permission for a housing development off Mill Lane in North Warrington.

Objectors say the plot of land, at the rear of The Plough public house, is far from suitable due to numerous constraints that they claim will make the lives of new residents living in the proposed “fortress development” of 27 homes unbearable.

This is the second attempt that landowner, southern-based L2 Property Ltd, has made a bid to develop the site which had formerly been farmland but later owned by Government agency Homes England. The developer’s first proposal was put forward earlier this year but was quickly withdrawn shortly after plans were submitted. Residents say the plug was pulled after the applicant had a site visit with engineers and had realised the complexities of the site.
Residents, who have dubbed the scheme ‘The Fortress Development’, say one length of the site runs parallel to the M62 motorway and is only yards away from a major Manchester to Liverpool high pressure gas pipe, and both present serious issues giving rise to air and noise pollution and construction concerns. They also say the three-storey townhouses and two-storey semi-detached properties will destroy the character of the village and will increase traffic flow along an old established lane that was not designed to accommodate more vehicles.
Villager Margaret Steen said: “We have steam coming out of our ears! We have given this proposal a nickname of ‘The Fortress Development’ because that’s exactly what it will look like. This planning application is proposing a 6-meter bund-fence along the motorway and also several of the new homes will have 3.5-meter boundary walls, the normal garden fence height is 1.8, so it’s easy to imagine how gross two garden fences on top of each other be.”
She added that the plan proposes to allocate amenity space directly alongside the M62 and she fears that children living in the new homes will be adversely impacted by the design by adding “Kids will grow up deaf and asthmatic, courtesy of greedy developers.”
Residents are also concerned about the site’s proposed access, Margaret added: “This is only Phase 1 of the scheme, ‘Phase 2’ is actually right behind The Plough and the developer intends to use the road from Phase 1 to get access. Everything is being crammed into such a small space.”
Objector Wendy Johnson-Taylor said she was sceptical about the developer and Warrington Borough Council’s thoroughness in publicising the application. She said: “We always knew the developer would bounce back for a second bite of the cherry. It was no surprise. The surprise is just how much property has been squeezed into such a tiny plot, and this plot will be even smaller to accommodate the gas mains constrictions and highway condition measures that must be in place to try to safeguard against noise and air pollution. We know just how noisy the M62 really is! The other surprise is that there are hundreds of residents who will be affected by this development and haven’t been notified. There have been many complaints from locals and many comments on social media. People are not happy.”
Wendy added that residents from surrounding communities were being encouraged to object before the June 25th deadline. Anyone wishing to do so can email [email protected] quoting application number 2021/39462. She also said that local councillors and Winwick Parish Council have also been urged to oppose the development.