TWO independent Warrington councillors fear that the approval of the Rush Green Road housing scheme on green belt at Lymm could have implications far beyond the 55 homes proposed on the site.
Cllr Graham Gowland (Lymm South) and Cllr Stuart Mann (Burtonwood & Winwick) say the significance of the decision lies not in the size of the development itself, but in the planning arguments used to support it.
Despite its Green Belt status, Warrington Borough Council planning officers have recommended the scheme for approval. Officers argue that the borough’s overall housing needs constitute “appropriate” justification and that the project forms a logical extension to the settlement edge.
The application was accompanied by a detailed Green Belt Assessment which argued that the site should be considered “Grey Belt” under the revised national planning framework, concluding that it did not strongly contribute to key Green Belt purposes and that development would not fundamentally undermine the wider Green Belt.
The councillors believe the decision could become a reference point for developers seeking to bring forward sites outside Warrington’s adopted Local Plan.
Cllr Gowland said: “Rush Green Road is important because it potentially changes the conversation. The issue is not the 55 homes proposed on the site. The issue is the planning route used to justify them.
“For years, residents have been told that decisions about Green Belt release should be made through the Local Plan process, allowing the council to compare sites across the borough and determine where growth should take place. What concerns many people is that developers are now increasingly testing those boundaries through individual planning applications.”
The councillors say the implications extend far beyond Lymm.
Over the last 12 months, Warrington has seen a significant number of major housing proposals come forward. These include the 167-home Cobblestone Wood development in Lymm, the Rush Green Road proposal, continued progression of the Peel Hall development, Peel Land proposals in Hollins Green, Peel Land proposals in Lymm, emerging proposals in Croft and the continuing South East Warrington Urban Extension.
However, the councillors say particular attention should now be focused on proposals sitting outside the borough’s current development strategy.
They point specifically to Peel Land’s proposals in Hollins Green, Lymm and Croft, together with Brooklyn’s ambitions for a major residential development of up to 500 homes.
Cllr Mann said: “The distinction residents need to understand is between sites that were identified through the Local Plan and sites that are now being promoted outside that process.
“Peel’s proposals in Hollins Green, Croft and Lymm, together with Brooklyn’s emerging plans, are exactly the sort of schemes that people will now be looking at through a different lens following the Rush Green Road decision.”
The councillors believe that if the Grey Belt arguments advanced at Rush Green Road gain traction, developers are likely to focus on sites that share similar characteristics.
These are typically sites adjoining existing settlements, sites surrounded by development on multiple sides, land close to existing services and infrastructure, and locations where it can be argued that the Green Belt performs a weaker strategic function.
As a result, they believe development pressure is most likely to increase in locations including: Statham and the Pool Lane corridor in Lymm, Mill Lane and Heatley, Parts of Thelwall, Hollins Green, Croft, Burtonwood and Winwick fringe locations and areas of previously safeguarded land around existing settlements.
The councillors stress that identifying areas likely to experience development pressure is not the same as saying development should occur there.
Cllr Gowland added: “When residents look at Cobblestone Wood, Rush Green Road, Peel Hall, Peel’s schemes in Hollins Green, Croft and Lymm, Brooklyn’s 500-home ambitions and the South East Warrington Urban Extension individually, each scheme can appear manageable in isolation.
“The concern comes when those proposals are viewed collectively. At that point, residents are entitled to ask whether development is still being guided by a coherent long-term strategy or whether it is increasingly being driven by speculative applications and changing national planning policy.”
The councillors also point to continuing debate around Warrington’s housing delivery performance and five-year housing land supply position, which developers increasingly rely upon when promoting sites that would previously have faced stronger planning obstacles. Documents submitted in support of the Rush Green Road proposal included evidence relating to housing need, housing delivery, economics and affordability.
Cllr Mann added: “People will have different views about housing growth, but everyone should agree that decisions affecting the future of Warrington’s Green Belt need to be transparent, consistent and based on a clear long-term plan.
“If applications outside the Local Plan are increasingly being justified through Grey Belt arguments, then residents deserve a full and honest conversation about what that means for the future of communities across the borough.”
Cllr Gowland concluded: “Rush Green Road may ultimately be remembered not because of the homes proposed on the site, but because of the precedent it may create.
“If the same planning arguments are applied elsewhere, the issue is no longer one site in Lymm. It becomes a borough-wide question about where Warrington grows next and who gets to make those decisions.”
