A housing developer has denied taking advantage of the coronavirus crisis to push through plans for building 255 homes on a golf course.
Plans for the controversial development at Widnes Golf Club were formally revealed last week and published on the council’s website on Thursday, prompting outrage from opponents of the scheme.
Cllr Andrea Wall said she was “disgusted” with the timing of the application while Cllr Phil Harris, who represents Hough Green, described the move as “a disingenuous attempt to get a planning application through in the midst of a pandemic ”.
But developer Anwyl Homes said the application had been “over a year in the making” and was submitted on March 13, more than a week before the announcement of a nationwide lockdown.
Managing director John Grime said: “Our planning consultants held their first pre-application meeting with Halton’s planning officer in February 2019 and met again with him in December.
“We also wrote to the three ward councillors in December to outline our plans and seek their comments. At the same time we organised a letter drop to immediate residents informing them of the proposed development and provided an indicative site layout for their review.
“It was a natural progression to then fine-tune the application and submit, which was done earlier this month, on Friday, March 13, prior to the serious escalation of the current public health crisis.”
Since then, Halton Council has postponed planning committee meetings, and a decision on Anwyl Homes’ application is unlikely to take place until they resume.
The plans involve building on part of the Liverpool Road golf course, reducing it from 18 holes to nine and providing a cash injection for Widnes Golf Club, which faces an uncertain future due to declining membership.
The club will also invest in the 18-hole Blundells Hill Golf Club in Rainhill to improve facilities there.
Opponents of the scheme argue that the golf course should be protected as “designated green space”, and that local schools and highways could not cope with the influx of new residents.
