Culcheth residents take to Town Hall over greenbelt assault

Almost 450 residents signed a petition that was delivered to Warrington Town Hall, opposing what is being deemed an 'assault on the greenbelt in their ward.'

One issue thrown into question by the residents was the planning applications submitted to Warrington Borough Council concerning almost 600 homes being built across the area - including 98 homes on land adjacent to one of the ward's primary schools.

Residents have opposed plans from the council regarding greenbelt land (Image: Maps)

Councillor Wendy Maisey said “There’s a strong feeling in our ward about the burden of up to 600 houses being built here, and we’re not going to accept this disastrous local plan lying down. 

"We all know we need more affordable local housing, but the sites chosen in Culcheth and Deacons Close Croft are totally unsuitable. 

"We’ll continue to work collaboratively cross-party with residents to stop these developments."

Cllr Maisey added: “The Government inspectorate has already commented with concerns about the overdevelopment of the greenbelt on sites in Warrington. 

"Warrington Borough Council had the opportunity to pause the local plan and review numbers following changes made in the levelling up act in relation to housing numbers. They’ve chosen not to do this.”

Cllr Valerie Allen said: “This disastrous plan would cause real problems for villagers who are already concerned with traffic on narrow roads and the safety of children walking to schools. 

"The addition of this number of extra housing would not only see greenbelt [land] being taken unnecessarily, but would put a strain on what are already limited services in this area. 

"We will stand up for residents and continue to work with them to stop this development."

The highlighted land is being eyed for potential developments (Image: Maps)

Another local councillor showed solidarity with residents - Cllr Carol Benson said: “I am so saddened to see WBC trying to continue with their plans to build on our precious greenbelt, much of which is prime agricultural land. They appear to ignore the will of the vast majority of residents, who have given very good reasons against building on this land.

"The Government has been clear that greenbelt can only be used where there are exceptional circumstances. We say there are no such exceptional circumstances. WBC chose to use greenbelt in Culcheth and Croft when they did not need to.

"We will continue to encourage WBC to rethink these plans and thank all our residents for their continued support. Our villages matter to us all."

Residents have until the end of Monday, March 13, to comment on the Deacons Close application on the council's online planning portal.

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