WARRINGTON Borough Council insist there were ‘sufficient opportunities’ for officers to assist people with understanding the local plan proposals and responding to the consultation.

A report providing an overview of the consultation that has been undertaken at each stage, in preparing the new local plan, will come before the scrutiny committee at its meeting on Wednesday.

It sets out how the consultation was undertaken, the level of response, the key issues raised and how the consultation was taken into account in the ‘evolution’ of the plan.

The report states that it should be noted that the public hearings into the local plan have recently concluded and there was a specific session that dealt with the consultation process.

The council has a statutory duty to prepare a local plan to ensure sufficient land is made available to meet Warrington’s future need for new homes and jobs.

The local plan also provides the opportunity to ensure that future growth is sustainable through the delivery of infrastructure necessary to support an increasing residential and working population.

A report to the scrutiny committee highlights a number of issues raised by residents in relation to the 2021 consultation process, and the response from the council.

One summary of issues raised says: “The consultation period was not long enough to consider all of the information.

“There were not enough Warrington Borough Council run presentations to attend with ongoing limitations due to the pandemic.”

But in response, the council said the consultation was carried out in line with The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 and the requirements of the council’s statement of community involvement.

It adds: “The council considers there were sufficient opportunities for members of the public and other stakeholders to engage with council officers to assist in them understanding the proposals set out in the local plan and to assist them in responding to the consultation.

“The council held five public consultation events at Warrington Wolves’ stadium, giving people the opportunity to discuss the updated proposed submission version local plan in detail with officers.

“The council provided briefings and presentation material to parish councils across the borough to enable them to undertake their own events.

“The council also published an on-line video explaining the key proposals within the updated proposed submission version local plan and how people could make representations.”