FORMER mayor Geoff Settle is questioning whether proposed new sports facilities at Victoria Park are sufficiently protected from flooding – while planning officers are recommending approval.
The plans are for a new artificial rugby and football pitch and replacement changing facilities at Warrington’s Victoria Park.
The application, submitted by Barratt David Wilson Homes, proposes a regulation-size 3G artificial grass pitch, replacement pavilion/changing facilities, eight floodlight columns, perimeter fencing and the relocation of an existing grass pitch.
Planning application 2025/01746/FULM was submitted in December 2025 and remains pending.
The proposal is part of a wider package of sports mitigation associated with plans for more than 400 homes at the former University of Chester Padgate Campus off Crab Lane, where existing sports facilities used by Warrington Wolves and others are due to be lost.
But Mr Settle, a former Warrington mayor and former member of the council’s planning committee, says he has concerns about locating further sporting infrastructure within Victoria Park because of its relationship with the River Mersey.
He described the park as a “manmade fishbowl” during flooding, arguing that the flood defences designed to protect surrounding residential areas can leave water trapped within the park.
“When the River Mersey floods the park, the Environment Agency defence walls trap river water in what I call a manmade fishbowl,” he said.
Mr Settle said the recently developed Victoria Park stadium was constructed with its structure raised above ground level to allow floodwater to pass underneath, and questioned whether the proposed new facilities would provide similar resilience.
His concerns are not without a planning context.
Warrington’s Strategic Flood Risk Assessment has previously identified Victoria Park as being particularly vulnerable to flooding. An earlier assessment classified much of the park as functional floodplain, with parts within Flood Zones 2 and 3, and modelled significant inundation during extreme events.
The council’s own planning policy has also recognised the park’s role in flood management.
The adopted Core Strategy states that development at Victoria Park should support, rather than prejudice, Environment Agency flood-management works and that the park’s flood-management role as functional floodplain should be preserved. It also says new or enhanced facilities should use flood-resilient materials and design. (
The Environment Agency’s current flood-warning area for the Mersey Estuary at Victoria Park covers the car park, running track, allotments, playground, skatepark and sports pitches.
The latest reporting on the application also confirms that the proposed pitch is in Flood Zone 3, which is being treated as a material consideration by planning officers.
What the application proposes
According to the latest planning information, the new artificial pitch would be constructed on the western side of the park on an existing grass playing field described as a poor-quality training pitch.
The existing changing rooms would be demolished and replaced with a larger pavilion, while a nearby pitch would be realigned to accommodate the new full-size facility.
The scheme would also introduce eight tall floodlighting columns and mesh perimeter fencing.
Proposed operating hours are 8 am to 10 pm Monday to Saturday and 8 am to 8 pm on Sundays.
Planning officers are currently recommending that permission be granted subject to conditions, with the decision due to be considered by the council’s Development Management Committee this week.
Because the land is council-owned, the application is being referred to the committee. If councillors resolve to approve it, it will then have to be referred to the Secretary of State to determine whether it should be called in.
The Victoria Park scheme cannot be considered entirely in isolation from the proposed redevelopment of the former university campus.
David Wilson Homes’ plans for the Padgate site involve around 400 homes and the loss of a range of existing sports facilities, including playing fields and artificial pitches.
The developer has said the relocation and improvement of sporting facilities across Warrington forms part of a sports mitigation strategy developed with the council, Sport England, Warrington Wolves and sporting bodies.
Victoria Park has been identified as one of the locations where replacement facilities can be provided.
Warrington’s Playing Pitch and Outdoor Sport Strategy already identifies Victoria Park as an important rugby league facility. The council’s assessment said the existing RFL-certified 3G pitch was heavily used, with Warrington Wolves, Rylands, Crosfields, Woolston Rovers, Latchford Giants and Latchford Albion among its users.
The strategy has also previously identified the potential for further artificial-grass-pitch provision at Victoria Park.
Mr Settle said his objections were not based on opposition to improving sporting facilities.
In fact, he argues that the existing changing facilities are in poor condition and need investment.
“I should be supporting the application, but hand on heart I can’t for two main reasons.”
His principal concern is whether the proposed buildings and associated infrastructure have been designed sufficiently to cope with flooding.
He also questions whether there is a genuine need for another pitch at Victoria Park, given the existing facilities already available, including the artificial surface associated with the stadium.
He points out that the council has previously used another building to accommodate away teams because of restrictions on shared changing facilities.
There is also a recent precedent for new facilities being approved at Victoria Park.
In 2024, Warrington Wolves Foundation secured planning permission for a gymnasium, changing facilities, offices and classrooms at the Victoria Park Arena.
That application was supported by a flood-risk assessment, and councillors were told the Environment Agency had no objection. Part of the new development was designed with a void underneath for flood mitigation purposes. Sport England also raised no objection.
That approval does not determine the outcome of the latest application, however, which involves a different location and a significantly larger outdoor sports facility.
Concerns over wider sports strategy
Mr Settle is also questioning why sports mitigation originally connected with the proposed Padgate Campus housing scheme is now being progressed through separate applications.
The original sports mitigation package included the proposed Victoria Park facility, a new synthetic rugby pitch at Woolston Playing Fields and improvements to hockey facilities at Lymm High School.
The Woolston pitch has since been approved, while the wider Padgate Campus housing application remains under consideration.
Mr Settle believes more attention should also be given to existing clubs and facilities closer to the former campus, including **Rylands Football Club, Bennett’s Recreation Ground and Padgate Tennis Club.
He has also questioned whether some of the former university buildings could potentially be adapted for community sport or other local services rather than relying entirely on replacement facilities elsewhere.
The latest application therefore brings together several competing considerations – the need to replace sporting facilities being lost through the redevelopment of the former university campus, the opportunity to provide a modern all-weather pitch and improved changing facilities, and the particular environmental constraints of Victoria Park.
The council’s planning officers are currently recommending approval subject to conditions, while the site’s Flood Zone 3 designation remains a key consideration.
For Mr Settle, however, the question is whether enough account has been taken of the park’s future flood risk.
“Any new buildings must take the power and attack of the floods into consideration,” he said.
The Development Management Committee is due to consider the application tomorrow, Thursday.
