Halton launches final consultation on 8,050-home plan
The council is undertaking its final eight-week consultation on its Local Plan, including gauging public views on releasing Green Belt land for development, before it is submitted to the Government.
Under the Local Plan, Halton is looking to deliver at least 8,050 homes in the plan period, which covers between 2014 and 2037.
It is also looking to deliver 445 acres of land for employment use; up to 100,000 sq ft of town centre retail; and around 50,000 sq ft of retail warehousing.
Development will be focussed on five areas: Halebank and the Ditton Corridor in Widnes; South Wides; West Runcorn; East Runcorn; and North Widnes.
Halebank focusses around encouraging investment in industrial and employment sites, particularly multi-modal freight, while South Widnes incorporates the town centre, the West Bank and the waterfront. West Runcorn’s plan will aim to redevelop brownfield land, while both East Runcorn and North Widnes will see extensions into green field plots.
Sites set to be allocated for housing include around Delph Lane West in Daresbury, and in the Central Housing Area, also in Daresbury. Sandymoor, Halton Lea, and Wharford Farm in Runcorn are all set to see further housing development, along with two sites in Widnes.
Development of local centres including retail has been allocated at Sandymoor in Runcorn, Keckwick Hill in Daresbury and at West Bank in South Widnes to support housing delivery.
Green Belt is more likely to be released around Daresbury, Moore, and Preston-on-the-Hill.
The council is targeting 30% of its residential development in the plan period to be on brownfield land. At strategic housing sites, developers will be required to deliver 20% affordable homes; this rises to 30% for greenfield development, while developers who build on brownfield sites will not be required to provide affordable homes.
For employment land, four main sites are identified: SciTech Daresbury; 3MG in Widnes; the Widnes Waterfront; and West Runcorn. Part of the 3MG site already has outline permission to deliver around 430,000 sq ft of warehousing.
Consultation started on 25 July and will run until 19 September.
Cllr Ron Hignett, the council’s portfolio for the built environment, said the consultation document “will seek to find and allocate the most sustainable sites to provide new housing and jobs, without these our local economy cannot grow and prosper and without the right infrastructure of all types to support that growth, our communities will not thrive.
“Because of this, the plan is about more than just finding sites to build on. It is also about identifying where building shouldn’t happen at all or where particular care must be taken. Its policies protect what is important to local people such as parks and playing pitches, Conservation Areas and Local Wildlife Sites,” he said.
“The development management policies need to be flexible enough to respond to legislative and market changes, whilst allowing the Council to strive for excellence in all development that arises from the proposals it makes decisions upon.”
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Halton needs to stop building houses on greenfield sites. They have a duty to protect these sites for future generations
By C. Stapleton
We need to preserve green areas.New houses encourage families where will you build new schools…HBC is a greedy council..Save our green spaces .save our diminishing wildlife.
By Mary Davies
The council should not build more housing, preserve green space, especially in Widnes, so much pollution NOT ENOUGH green space. NEED More schools and better infrastructure.
By P Myler
It’s good to see a council taking the housing shortage seriously-
By Stuart wood
As much as housing iand its additional commu ity infrastructures is needed, it is vital greenbelt land and areas are left alone. So much has already been eaten away,and we can’t afford to take more. For all our future generations ,keep our green spaces and find a different means to provide housing within existing previously developed sites
By Alison Stephens
We have to Protect green space. Schools in Halton are already under a lot of growing pressure even now. The current and future generations of Halton need protection. Renovate existing sites as there are many in Halton left in disrepair. Our trees are our natural carbon eaters and no more trees should be cut down. We cannot keep harming nature in this way. Our council need to protect nature in every way possible now to ensure the future stability.
By Miss Clark