Green Belt land earmarked for development as Labour vote through controversial Local Plan

WARRINGTON’S controversial Local Plan to drive future growth and development, including thousands of new homes on Green Belt, has been given the go-ahead for submission to the government despite opposition from local Tories and Lib Dems, with both parties opposing the Labour-controlled council’s proposals.

In response to the decision Warrington South MP Andy Carter said that outside of the council chamber, there was no support for the plan which would see thousands of homes built on Green Belt land and he pledged to support local Tories who have said they will scrap the plan.

Lib Dem planning spokesperson Cllr Ryan Bate accused the Labour administration of ignoring the views of the public, councillors and community groups by making virtually no changes following the last round of consultation. He added that the public had “lost faith in the whole planning process,” with the “decision to approve premature planning applications like the massive Six56 logistics site in advance of the Local Plan” adding to their disillusionment.

During another lengthy meeting at the Parr Hall Warrington’s updated Proposed Submission Version Local Plan was approved by Full Council last night Monday 4 April, meaning it will now be submitted to the Secretary of State.

This paves the way to an Examination in Public (EIP), which will be carried out by an independent Planning Inspector. While the council considers that the proposed Plan is sound, the EIP will give the Inspector the opportunity to recommend any modifications considered necessary to ensure the plan is legally compliant. It is anticipated the earliest date for the EIP will be summer or autumn 2022.

The controlling Labour group say Warrington’s Local Plan aims to drive forward growth and development and help deliver the homes, jobs, transport infrastructure and community facilities the borough needs, while protecting the Green Belt as much as possible.

It aims to provide first-class community facilities – new schools, medical centres, shops and roads – all of which will support thriving new communities and make Warrington an attractive place to live, work and invest in.

The plan also aims to meet the needs of a growing population and future generations, by providing enough new housing – including affordable homes – so that people who want to live here can do so, and to support an ageing population and residents with disabilities to live independently.

Warrington’s updated Local Plan has responded to some of the key issues raised by residents and businesses, with a number changes made to the previous version of the plan (published in 2019). These include:

• A reduction in new housing from 945 a year over 20 years, to 816 a year over a reduced plan period of 18 years (2021-2038 inclusive).
• A reduction in the amount of land proposed to be removed from the Green Belt is 580 hectares, equating to 5% of the total amount of Green Belt land in the borough. This is significantly lower than the 1,210 hectares proposed in the previous Proposed Submission Version Local Plan which equated to 11% of the total amount of Green Belt.
• The removal of the South West Urban Extension from the Plan (1,600 homes), the housing allocation for Phipps Lane in Burtonwood Village (160 homes), and the Massey Brook Lane site in Lymm (66 homes).
• Moving away from the Garden Suburb concept in South Warrington (4,200 new homes), and instead including new proposals for a South East Warrington Urban Extension, with a reduced allocation of 2,400 new homes during the plan period.
• The removal of Port Warrington (75ha employment land) and the Business Hub (25ha employment land) from the plan.
• The allocation of the Fiddlers Ferry site for employment and housing, following closure of the power station in March 2020.

The Council undertook a comprehensive, six-week consultation on the Updated Plan in October 2021, including five public consultation events at Warrington Wolves’ stadium, which gave people the opportunity to discuss the plan in detail with officers and have their say.

More than 2,000 responses were received, and in responding to these by carrying out additional evidence base work, the council is confident that the Plan, provides the basis to sustainably meet Warrington’s future development needs and to meet the test of soundness, as set out in the National Planning Policy Framework.

Warrington Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for environment, housing and public protection, Cllr Hitesh Patel (Lab), said: “Our updated Local Plan is fully focused on driving forward Warrington’s ambition and need for development while protecting the Green Belt wherever possible. We know how important this plan is to our future, and how vital is we get it right. That’s why we’ve listened closely to the views of local people throughout the plan’s development.

“I’m pleased that we have now reached this significant milestone. Full council approval paves the way to the submission of our plan to the Secretary of State, bringing us another step closer to the adoption of our plan.

“I believe that our plan fully meets the needs of our borough and will be effective in promoting and guiding Warrington’s future growth, along with the delivery of the social and physical infrastructure necessary to support an increasing resident and working population. I am hopeful that this view will be shared by the Planning Inspector.”

But Warrington South MP Andy Carter said: “Outside of the council chamber this is no support for this Local Plan, we will see thousands of homes built on the Green Belt, a complete failure to address infrastructure needs across the Borough and a missed opportunity to push further to regenerate our town centre. I welcome the inclusion of Fiddlers Ferry but even then the outline opportunity to invest in high tech jobs seems to be lost to more warehousing.

“The plan will now go forward to an Independent Planning Inspector for review. I don’t believe the plan is sound, I agree with the thousands of local residents who objected and I will continue to campaign for changes to be made, fully supporting the Conservative Group on Warrington Council who have committed to scrap this plan.

Meanwhile, Appleton Councillor Mark Jervis (Cons) spoke about Labour’s reckless and unsound plan to swallow up large parts of Warrington’s valuable green belt for warehousing and new homes against the wishes of thousands of local residents.

He said: “In approving the Local Plan, Labour Councillors have effectively said that thousands of concerned local residents across Warrington are wrong and that Labour knows best.”

“The whole premise of the Labour Plan is flawed and cannot be trusted.“

“Despite promising in 2014 to protect Warrington’s green belt until 2032, this reckless and unsound Labour Local Plan will rapidly swallow up large areas of green belt thereby irrevocably and unnecessarily damaging the distinctive character of many areas of Warrington.”

“New infrastructure proposals by Labour are non-existent in a town already at or above capacity in many areas.”

“Last night, the Conservative Group confirmed that it will stand at the 2024 local elections with a mandate to abandon this Labour Plan in its present form on Day-1. The Conservatives will prepare a new Plan which protects the character of Warrington, including the green belt, whilst identifying a sustainable level of growth, and provision of new housing in urban settings”

Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Ken Critchley (Con, Appleton) said: “The brunt of this green belt destruction falls into South East Warrington. The intention of this plan is to introduce 4,200 new homes and an enormous logistics park into an area with already chronically over-stretched and under-resourced infrastructure. The reality of this plan will be wholly unnecessary destruction of the open spaces that make South Warrington such a lovely place to live. It’s an act of environmental vandalism and should have been rejected by the Council. Instead, Labour are imposing their Plan on the people of Warrington.”

There is, however, one piece of good news. Birchwood Councillor Nigel Balding claimed that he had received an agreement for minor changes to Section 2 of the Local Plan, including adding “climate emergency” to the List of Challenges, and adding “investment in the green economy” and “the recovery of nature” to the List of Opportunities.

Local Lib Dems also voted against the proposals.

Liberal Democrat Planning Spokesperson, Cllr Ryan Bate said, “When we debated the Plan last year, we made it quite clear that unless there were significant changes, we would vote against it. Sadly, the Labour administration has ignored the views of the public, councillors and community groups and made virtually no changes following the last round of consultation.

Planning is a critical activity in shaping a sustainable and prosperous future for our town. The problem is that the public has lost faith in the whole planning process. The decision to approve premature planning applications like the massive Six56 logistics site in advance of the Local Plan has added to their disillusionment. Comments by Labour councillors about it being the ‘south’s turn’ for development and the advantage of increased council tax revenue following development, haven’t helped either. The public is also suspicious about the planning department being part of the Council’s Growth Directorate.

“The town faces many challenges. There is rapid economic change with altered working and retail habits. A lack of truly affordable housing is made worse by the cost of living crisis. There is no new crossing of the Bridgewater Canal. It cannot be sound to build more car-dependent dormitory suburbs on Green Belt land. Together with the warehouse developments, these will create more congestion and air pollution. The loss of green space will harm our ecology and increase flooding risks. The identity and character of our villages will be lost. This all flies in the face of the Council’s commitment to tackling climate change and the ecological emergency.

“We need sustainable communities with ‘fifteen-minute neighbourhoods’ where everyone can live, shop, access public services and work within short journey distances. We should be reducing car dependency, promoting active travel and enhancing public transport. The only new infrastructure are roads to open up land for development. We should be encouraging people to spend time and money in our town centre, not travelling outside the Borough. Instead, we are increasing the divides and inequalities between different parts of our town.

The Plan should be the opportunity to create a positive vision for Warrington with a truly sustainable future in which everyone can thrive. In contrast what we have, is an unsound Plan which we cannot support.”

For more information, and to read the draft Local Plan, please visit warrington.gov.uk/localplan

Our Local Plan has been approved by Full Council, meaning it can now be submitted to the government.

Find out more: https://t.co/6PLWMLrrLO pic.twitter.com/gsXEyPCHvz

— Warrington Borough Council (@WarringtonBC) April 5, 2022