Plans for a huge housing project in one part of Merseyside have been approved.
Taylor Wimpey UK’s proposal to build 286 new homes on land north of Formby’s Brackenway has been given the green light by Sefton Council.
The developer said that 7.9 hectares of grasslands and wetlands to the north of the nearby Wham Dyke will be retained and green corridors will be created.
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It is hoped that links to a new nature reserve extension in the north will help to boost the green credentials of the development and increase local biodiversity.
There is a legal agreement securing affordable housing as part of the plan, which also forces the developer to pay £188,760, or £660 per home, to compensate for “recreational pressures” it could create on the Sefton coastline.
Taylor Wimpey carried out extensive flood risk modelling and ecological studies, as well as surveys of habitats, bat roosts and water voles, as part of its planning for the development.
Cllr Daren Veidman, Sefton Council's cabinet member for planning and building control, said: "As with every single planning application, both at officer and committee level all appropriate considerations, concerns and comments are taken into account before any decision is made.
"Crucially, this proposed development is likely to bring tangible benefits to existing residents who have previously experienced flooding.
"The development would also improve local ecology and bio-diversity net gain in the area and has, in all other respects, fulfilled the planning criteria set out both on a national and local level.”
Land north of Brackenway has been identified since 2015 as a site suitable for housing developments as part of the Sefton Local Plan, which seeks to address the borough's housing needs up to 2030.
Cllr Veidman added: "Of course the continued protection of our established communities is paramount and we have stated that a legal agreement will be put in place with the developer.
"This agreement seeks to ensure the proposed development will secure affordable housing, the long-term management of open space, mitigation of any flood risk, management of watercourses, protect natural conservation sites and more."
