A Lymm councillor is urging residents to engage with Warrington’s Local Plan Review after analysis of the latest Call for Sites submissions revealed that developers and landowners are promoting sites capable of delivering more than 2,000 additional homes across the wider WA13 area.
Independent Lymm South councillor Graham Gowland said the scale of development being put forward could have a profound impact on the future of the village if significant numbers of sites were eventually selected through the Local Plan process.
While stressing that the Call for Sites exercise is not a planning application process and that no decisions have yet been made, Cllr Gowland said residents should understand the scale of growth being promoted.
“These are not council proposals and they are not planning applications. They are sites submitted by developers and landowners for consideration through the Local Plan Review.
However, when you look at the cumulative numbers being promoted around Lymm and the wider WA13 area, it is clear that residents have a right to be informed and involved.”
The largest housing sites put forward include:
• Wet Gate Lane – approximately 750 homes.
• Stage Lane / Mill Lane – approximately 430 homes.
• Oughtrington Lane – approximately 250 homes.
• Cherry Lane – approximately 230 homes.
• Rush Green Road – approximately 150 homes.
• Dam Lane, Hollinfare – approximately 150 homes.
• Mill Lane – approximately 100 homes.
Alongside these are numerous smaller proposals around Pepper Street, Reddish Lane, Rush Green Road, Pool Lane and Cherry Lane.
Lymm currently has an estimated housing stock of around 5,300 homes. The sites now being promoted equate to roughly 40 per cent of the village’s existing housing stock, although many of the proposals compete with each other and it is highly unlikely that all would ever be allocated.
Cllr Gowland said he supported the principle of delivering affordable housing for local people but warned that the discussion should focus on whether homes are genuinely affordable and whether infrastructure can support the level of growth being suggested.
“I welcome genuinely affordable homes. Many young people who grew up in Lymm now struggle to buy or rent locally, while older residents often want suitable homes to downsize into.
But affordable housing must actually be affordable. Too often we see developments advertised as including affordable homes which remain out of reach for many local families.”
He added:
“The debate must be about more than housing numbers.
Residents will rightly want to know what this means for school places, GP appointments, traffic, drainage, flood risk, public transport and the character of the village itself.
Lymm has already seen significant growth through developments such as the 170-home Warrington Road scheme and the 108-home Narrowboat View development. Further growth can only be considered if infrastructure keeps pace.”
How residents can have their say
Cllr Gowland is encouraging residents to engage with the Local Plan Review as it progresses.
“This is the earliest stage of the process. No decisions have been made and no sites have been selected.
Residents who support growth, oppose particular sites, or simply want to ensure infrastructure comes first should take part when consultations open. The choices made through this review will shape Lymm for decades.”
Residents can follow the Local Plan Review through Warrington Borough Council and submit comments during future consultation stages when draft options and proposed allocations are published.
