Thanks to some sterling work by residents, Warrington’s planning committee voted to defer the two HCA planning applications for Grappenhall Heys and Appleton Cross. The case made on the grounds of traffic, amenities and ecology all persuaded a majority of committee members that there were outstanding questions despite the large volume of planning materials submitted by the HCA.

Personally, I think that the deferral was the best outcome we could have hoped for. A number of councillors who voted against deferral highlighted the reality that housing is needed and there is a strong case for housing to be built on the HCA land. Our case, which I appreciate is not shared by everybody across south Warrington, is that we are not anti-housing, we simply want to make sure that the lives of current and future residents is not negatively impacted by development.

Much reference was made to government policy around the need for holistic thinking around planning, to ensue that housing developments are actually built with communities in mind. This requires infrastructure to be built. In south Warrington, indeed across the whole of Warrington, one of the major problems we face is how to improve the flow of traffic around the town. Roads and junctions have been tinkered with for decades, but the increasing population of the town, combined with increased car ownership, means that our traffic infrastructure has become increasingly clogged up. This is certainly the case for the roads and junctions in question around the land involved in the HCA proposals.

Whilst the HCA’s plans have been deferred though, the problems raised by residents and also addressed by planning committee members in their questions on Thursday are not the HCA’s to solve alone. Rather, there is a major role for Warrington Borough Council to play in putting together a transparent, collaborative long-term plan for development across the town, encompassing housing, business activity, roads and public services.

One of the dissenting voices last Thursday, Councillor Carey, made a thinly veiled allegation of NIMBY-ism towards the residents who had turned out against the HCA plans. He quite rightly asserted that the problems addressed by the speakers campaigning against the developments were not unique to south Warrington. He also said that the plans would go ahead as the system was in their favour, so deferral or rejection was a waste of time. As true as this might be, it surely cannot be right to accept developments as a fait accompli when the negative impact is clear for all to see. This is true for developments across the town. Yes we need housing, but at what cost? If the system gives too much favour towards granting permission for housing, with no place for demanding new infrastructure and services, then should we accept that system? I would argue not.

Warrington Borough Council, working with developers and communities, needs to be pro-active and strategic in how they move forward following these deferrals. I believe there is a real opportunity to do things differently. We have a new local plan being drawn up and are already progressing some new infrastructure projects, albeit by no means enough to solve all of the town’s problems. By taking the initiative and sharing holistic thinking with developers and communities, residents would understand how housing fits into wider plans for the town and hopefully take comfort that infrastructure and public services will be provided. The alternative to this is to continue considering each major application individually, attracting the concern and opposition shown by residents to these HCA proposals and the plans for Peel Hall earlier this year. Only by selling the positive vision of developing whole communities can we counter the negativity which arises from residents seeing plans for houses with no provision for the people who live in the area.

I look forward to working with residents, the Council and the HCA in the weeks and months ahead to try and make this positive, holistic vision a reality. I don’t think it will be easy as it is a big shift from how things are done at the moment. Unless such a change occurs though, I will work even harder to support residents in opposing housing plans which give no consideration to how the impact of new housing can be turned from a negative to a positive for the areas where they happen.

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