ECRA with Windle working together to Save the Green Belt & promote sustainable development

1. Welcome! ECRA with Windle working together to Save the Green Belt & promote sustainable development

2. Fighting hard to Protect the Green Belt & promote responsible sustainable development

3. Outline for the meeting • Where are we now • Historical situation • Current situation • What ECRA with Windle believe • What ECRA with Windle are doing • What you can do

4. WHERE ARE WE NOW • St Helens Borough Local Plan 2020-2035 • published on 17th January 2019 • Significant changes from St Helens Preferred Options Plan 2016. • Consultation period runs to 13th March 2019. • Short window to register any opinions.

5. Historical situation “ST HELENS PREFERRED OPTIONS PLAN” 2016 • St Helens’ Council are required by law to produce a local plan. • In December 2016 they produced the “Local Preferred Options Plan” for consultation. • 5565 consultation responses were received which have been analysed • Of the initial 6 Green Belt sites named in Eccleston and Windle in the Preferred Options , only two now remain

6. Current situation • St Helens Borough Local Plan 2020-2035 will be presented to the Planning inspector • Including all comments from interested parties following consultation • The plan must satisfy the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)2018

7. 8HS HOUGHTONS LANE TO WINDLE ISLAND

8. HA16 becomes 8HSHousing Allocation (HA) vs Housing Safeguarded ( HS) • HA sites will be immediately available for development if adopted in the Plan (2020 - 2035) • HS sites will be released from Green Belt immediately and safeguarded for future development (2035 or next review of Local Plan – normally 5 years) • Note safeguarding is not safeguarding FROM housing development but safeguarding FOR housing development to ensure council housing targets are met. Safeguarded sites will be removed from the Green Belt – this also removes the protection that comes from being in Green Belt.

9. National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) 2018 The Local Plan will be examined by the Planning Inspector and must be found sound when considering whether it has been • Positively prepared • Justified • Effective • Consistent with national policy ECRA & Windle consider that the Local Plan is neither Justified or Effective and not consistent with National policy”

10. Particular Requirements of NPPF 2018 • Protect the Green Belt – section 13 • Must ‘demonstrate that it has examined fully all other reasonable options for meeting its identified need for development’ before changing the Green Belt boundary (Section 13 para 137) • Must demonstrate Sustainable Development • Must make effective use of Land with appropriate housing densities • Promote Sustainable Transport • Conserve and Enhance the natural environment.

11. ECRA & Windle Believe • That the Plan is flawed and deficient as it does not satisfy: • the requirement for Sustainable development • the criteria for Sustainable transport as the plan promotes increased car dependency remote from transport hubs. • sustainable housing, targets proposed are based on aspirational employment growth predictions. • effective land use by concentrating on Green Space development over town centre development with higher densities. • food security by ignoring Agricultural Land Quality.

12. Good news! • St Helens Council Preferred Options plan of December 2016 was to build 570 houses per year for 30 years – a whopping 17,100 extra houses, potentially a 22% increase in population. • This has been revised downwards in the SHMBC LP Proposed Submission Version to 486 Equivalent to 7,290 extra homes and a population increase of nearly 10% over the 15 year plan period.

13. Housing Proposals • In addition the Local Plan includes for building a further 5,000 homes from 2035 onwards made up of currently allocated sites and the development of safeguarded sites. • This equates to about a further 10 years supply at 486 homes p.a. Why is it therefore necessary to have ‘safeguarded’ sites at all.

14. Current Housing Numbers • The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2016) predicts St Helens will need 383 houses based on the latest statistical research. • SHMBC sought clarification on what figures to use from Central Government. • SHMBC where advised to use the higher 486 determined from the previous data. • That is 486 – 383 = 103 extra houses per year • Equivalent to 1,545 extra homes over 15 years or 3,090 homes over 30 years. • Should not SHMBC be challenging the use of the higher figure – Wirral are.

15. Brownfield & Unsuitable Land. • Do not confuse Brownfield Register Sites withUnsuitable Sites. • To be included on the Brownfield Register sites MUST be available for development in the Plan period. Unsuitable sites with underutilisation, contamination, ownership, legal or access issues cannot be included on the Register until they are available for development. ECRA & W believes there is enough Brownfield availability to meet the housing needs

16. Brownfield & Unsuitable Land. • The council argue Central government will not fund the cleaning up of contaminated sites and so have excluded them as being unavailable for development. • Their appears to be no policy or intent from SHMBC, or indeed LCRCA, to make unattractive town centre and industrial sites available for development. Are they doing enough to promote a local and regional policy for cleaning up sites and making a case to central government for funding where this is necessary. Not all sites will need central or regional funding. ECRA & Windle consider that SHMBC are not doing enough to make unsuitable sites available for development and transfer to the Brownfield Register.

17. Infrastructure Issues HIGHWAYS • Windle Island is an accident hot spot as are other local junctions. • New junctions could be required if 8HS goes ahead • The huge increase in warehouse distribution at Haydock, and the additional lorries plus the extra traffic from Eccleston and St Helens will cause more chaos. • The proposed submission is light on infrastructure improvements • More congestion leads to queues with idling engines increasing pollution, poor air quality and health issues. MORE HOUSES = MORE TRAFFIC AND POLLUTION

18. Infrastructure Issues Transport & Traffic • Borough wide residential traffic is forecast to increase by the period of the plan and beyond by around 35% over the 15 year plan and beyond. (population increases by 16% over same period) • The super-port is forecast to increase Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) traffic 4 fold over the next 10 years. • Light Goods Vehicle (LGV) traffic will increase significantly due to the logistics warehousing delivery traffic. • Manchester and Liverpool have the most traffic congestion outside of London. • Congestion is experienced daily by those using the M6/J23 and the M6/J23-26. • Locally the Bleak Hill road/St Helens Road junction and the Rainhill Road/Warrington Road have long term intractable problems. • Current Roadworks are independent of any traffic increases resulting from all regional Local Plans. • 8HS & Eccleston Park Golf club sites are remote from public transport hubs and so promote car dependency. ECRA & W believe the Local Plan proposals will lead to more congestion, car dependency and eventual grid lock and is therefore not sustainable.

19. Infrastructure Issues Transport & Traffic • The plan proposals will we believe have a ‘severe impact ’ on traffic across the borough and the region. • The Infrastructure Delivery Plan appearsnot to consider traffic for the borough as a whole. Individual Development infrastructure funding will not cover highway improvements on existing roads across the borough necessary to meet the predicted increase in traffic on the main arterial routes through the town. ECRA & W believe any shortfall in Highway improvement funding resulting from the cumulative effect of the Local Plan should not fall on the public purse.

20. Infrastructure Issues – borough wide EDUCATION INFRASTRUCTURE • Similarly developer contributions generally relate only to the local impacts of individual developments and ignore the cumulative impact on the wider community as a whole. • The Infrastructure Delivery Plan again appears deficient in predicting school demands across the borough and how educational needs will be provided and funded. HEALTHCARE INFRASTRUCTURE • The Infrastructure Delivery Plan is we believe light on how healthcare provision is to be met under the Local Plan. • It is acknowledged that the NHS staffing is currently a major national issue, more than 40,000 nurses short. • It is also acknowledged that this region has a poor record nationally of attracting staff. • With a forecast significant increase in elderly population over the Plan period it is not clear how safe staffing levels are to be met for the forecast 16% Increase in population over the plan period and the 10 years beyond.

21. Story Homes • Story Homes are a Carlisle based house building company appointed by the Landowners to develop 8HS East Lancs Site (formerly HA16) • They have entered into an Option Agreement with the owners of 8HS. • They have an outline plan to build over 1172 houses in 3 phases. • No infrastructure is identified, other than roads – one of which is labelled a “bus route”

22. January 17 / March 13 2019Proposed Plan Publication Our LAST chance to comment on the Plan Summer 2019Plan submitted to the Planning Inspector, along with ALL evidence documents and the collated report with our responses and representations' Planning Inspector then begins initial examination. Examinations in Public will commence in the Autumn of 2019. Winter 2019 Modifications made to the Plan Winter 2019/20 Planning Inspectors Report Followed by ADOPTION OF LOCAL PLAN. What happens next?

23. What are ECRA & Windle doing? • Challenging population growth • Challenging Aspirational Employment figures • Working with other Green Belt groups to build a strong opposition case • Employing a Planning Consultant to strengthen the argument • Provide information via meetings, ECRA Times and drop in sessions to facilitate residents responses We oppose ANY building on Green Belt

24. What can you do? • Respond to the publication • ECRA & W will provide more information over the next few weeks • Write to your MP • Write to your Councillors – especially if you live in Windle! • We will hold some surgeries to help with responses • Guidance on your response will also be available on our social media

25. PLEASE CONTINUE YOUR SUPPORT! The next 8 weeks are an opportunity for us to respond and Save the Green Belt

26. Funding Thank you, thank you, thank you! We have been able to engage an experienced Planning Consultant to assist in our presentation of our argument. Please continue to offer funding support if you can – we may need more! Next events: at St Julies Quiz night Saturday 16th February Social evening with the Woodlanders Saturday 6th April

27. Who are we? • Chair – Dave Wainwright, Windle • Treasurer – Stephen Brine, Eccleston • Secretary – Michelle Dennett, Eccleston • Tech Lead – Ken Marr, Eccleston • Fundraising – Pam Milligan, Windle • Newsletter and Traffic research – Dave Oxford, Windle • Communication Lead – Su Barton, Eccleston

28. Who are we? Team Bob Stock Tony Lewis Barbara and David Swain Amy and Charles Earnshaw Geoff and Gill Holmes Edith, Alan and Andrew Martlew David Almond Francis Williams

29. QUESTIONS?

30. ECRA with Windle @EccyGreenBelt “Save Windle & Eccleston’s Green Belt WEBSITE www.ecra.org.uk

31. Sustainable development • a state of society where living conditions and resource use continue to meet human needs without undermining the integrity and stability of the natural system.