Birchwood 'monstrosity' may slash value of homes by a third

The application for the development on Warrington Road was submitted in December 2021, and has been so unpopular with residents that Birchwood Town Council called a special meeting to discuss the plans.

At the time the application was submitted, there were numerous objections from residents.

The proposed development would see large warehouses constructed on the site (Image: Newsquest)

Now, residents have had valuations by independent estate agents, who say that the development at Trident Business Park could lead to houses in the area losing up to 30 per cent of their value.

In a letter to the Warrington Guardian, concerned residents raised numerous points that they objected to within the planning application documents - ranging from traffic to wildlife, to pollution.

Birchwood Town Council has voted unanimously against the planning application, which is still under review by Warrington Borough Council.

The application specifies that the development will allow operations at the site to take place 24 hours per day, seven days a week - which residents have calculated will mean if HGVs have a turnaround of 30 minutes, there will be 28 HGVs arriving/leaving every hour.

This gives a potential of 1,344 HGV movements every day.

With more than 1,000 movements per day, this equates to over 365,000 HGV movements per year - which the residents say will overload traffic that is already a cause for concern on Warrington Road.

This is the area that the application covers (Image: St Modwen Logistics)

Residents say that some of the onsite vehicles, such as forklift trucks, will cause noise that is in excess, and will be considered 'a nuisance'.

They also raised the question of local wildlife, with reports of nesting bats in the area - it is currently an offence to damage or destroy known roosting areas of bats, as they are protected in the UK.

Residents are also complaining that the development will cause a considerable amount of visual pollution - which, they say, will impact on their 'right to light'.

They said: "We consider that due to the size, especially the height, of the proposed development, this will adversely impact the amount of light that the houses along Warrington Road will benefit from, reducing the natural sunlight we currently enjoy."

In planning documents, the site's proposed developers include steps they are taking to mitigate the issues raised by residents.

Newsquest (Image: Newsquest)

The site's developers, St Modwen Developments Ltd., responded to the issues brought to them which included altering the plans so that buildings will 'screen' noise and light away from residential areas.

Residents are sceptical of the effect this mitigation will have.

The developers also suggest that the nearest houses will be 'at least' 50 metres away from the site.

Also noted by the developers was the fact that the buildings on the site would need to be renovated anyway, regardless of whether the application is given permission because they are in a dilapidated state.

Councillor David Ellis, Chair of Birchwood Town Council, said: "While we will always support sensitive development of sites like this which can bring additional employment to the area, in this case, we are especially concerned about the impact that such a large building will have on the residents on Warrington Road as it will result in a serious loss of amenity.

"The current street view will change dramatically and the proposed new buildings will completely dominate the scene."

This is how the developers expect the warehouses to look behind the existing properties (Image: Newsquest)

He added: "We are concerned about the potential impact of traffic on the local area, especially on the A574 towards Culcheth, which has already had a lot of issues with heavy traffic.

"Indeed, HGVs over 7.5 tonnes are theoretically prohibited from using the route, but, in practice, often do."

Birchwood Town Councillor Craig Allen said: "The location for this application is inappropriate, being far too close to houses, and the structure is too imposing at an important gateway to Birchwood when travelling to or from Culcheth.

"This proposed monstrosity may even deter other companies from wanting to come to the council-owned Birchwood Business Park.

"As well as the permanent destruction of residential amenities, this development has the potential to harm local green spaces and reduce biodiversity which hosts bats, birds and hedgehogs.

"And, if approved, this development is a step along the path for Birchwood to slowly lose its green identity."

It is expected that this application will be considered later this year by Warrington Borough Council.