Sefton Council’s planning committee has had a busy year in 2021.
Making decisions as to what can and cannot be built in the borough, many of the applications brought before councillors over the past year have courted controversy in one way or another.
From the decision to refuse what would have been one of the largest community led housing developments in the country to approving a scheme as long as pink-footed geese get fed “in perpetuity”, we take a look at some of the most controversial rulings made by Sefton Counci l’s planning committee this year.
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In March, plans by SAFE Regeneration, a community social enterprise and arts organisation, who wanted to transform a six-acre area in Bootle next to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal were refused.
The plans were described as a “long-term investment vision for Bootle” – and would have included 107 affordable family homes, an 80-bed extra care facility for residents aged 55 and over, leisure facilities, a microbrewery and an arts hub and business centre.
The application site was on the former St Mary’s Primary School complex off Waverley Street and Bank Road in Bootle, which is now the home of the SAFE Community Arts and Enterprise Hub.
Despite a petition with over 600 signatures in support of the proposal, which would have been the largest community-led housing scheme in the country, at a meeting of Sefton Council’s planning committee in March the scheme was controversially refused over the number of car parking spaces provided in the development.
The refusal of the scheme, which was anticipated to have created 110 new jobs, as well as contributing an estimated £3.8m annually to the local economy, sparked something of a backlash for Sefton Council.
Planning chiefs also said there were “significant shortfalls” in the proposals, due to the scheme’s “excessive density” and its outdoor amenity space, as well as problems with the amount of parking provided.
Speaking to hyperlocal new site Scottie Press after the refusal, Safe Regeneration CEO Brian Dawe said: “We are absolutely committed to providing high quality, affordable homes that meet the needs of local people now and into the future.
“Every home would have at least one car parking space, there are two train stations within a few minutes’ walk, there would be a shared electric car-pool and charging points, and we want to provide every household with a £400 bike grant.
“We want to put in solar panels and a geothermal heating system to help with heating and energy bills.
“We are facing a climate emergency and a global push to reduce car ownership. Sefton Council should be supporting a green project like this, not pushing for more cars on the road.”
Sefton Council said they had been working with the developer to encourage “appropriate resolution” to the issues on which the project was refused before it had reached planning committee stage.
Plans for a large scale housing development in Maghull attracted controversy after plans were approved despite opposition from local town councils and 114 objections from local residents.
The plans for two developments from separate developers next to each on a piece of former green belt land east of Maghull for a new community of over new community of 1,700 homes were given the go ahead in March.
Sefton Council had agreed back in 2017 to remove the land from greenbelt to allow it to be used for homes and a business park, but the site has been controversial among residents in Maghull with both applicants receiving hundreds of objections.
People raised concerns about increased traffic, more demand for parking at stations, flood risk, and a lack of schools, GP surgeries, and dentists as well as the loss of green space, with one resident saying: “What a waste of lovely green farm land.”
However at the march meeting, plans for an 855-property site to be developed by the East Maghull Consortium were approved, with plans for a further 841 home development by Countryside Properties and Persimmon Homes also approved at the same meeting, all subjection to S106 legal agreements and conditions.
In April, plans to build a four storey block of flats on the site of a former British Legion on Liverpool Road South in Maghull were rejected by councillors after the designs were described as “shocking” and “aesthetically unpleasing.”
Officers at Sefton Council had recommended approving the proposals from McCarthy and Stone Retirement Lifestyles Ltd but councillors unanimously rejected them at a planning meeting, saying the company had failed to address concerns about the design of the building.
The plans had previously been discussed by the committee in February 2021, with councillors deferring the decision to allow the developer to make design changes.
However, when brought back to committee in April, Cllr John Kelly said: “They’ve said the design has changed, all they’ve done is change the cladding to a yellow sandstone brick, “To me, it is still aesthetically unpleasing.”
Rejecting the plans, Cllr Denise Dutton agreed, describing the proposed building as “shocking” and “totally out of keeping with the area” adding “they’ve not really changed anything at all.”
Plans to knock down the former Lathom social club and replace it with flats were rejected by councillors in June because of high levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution in Seaforth.
The plans for the site of the former club where the Beatles once played were knocked back because of the area’s terrible air quality.
Local ward councillor Paul Cummins said The Lathom was in “the most polluted spot” in the borough, with pollution likely to increase due to port traffic, meaning the site would be unsuitable for habitation.
Although a planning report had said that air quality would have a “negative effect on occupiers” officers had recommended approval, saying mechanical ventilation could mitigate the risk.
This was not accepted by councillors however, who voted to reject the application.
Plans to build nearly 300 homes on a site at risk of flooding in Formby were given the go ahead in August, despite huge objection by local residents and the town council.
The proposals from Taylor Wimpey for a site at the north of Brackenway were originally approved in March 2019, but after delays in signing a Section 106 agreement, detailing the developers contributions to local infrastructure meant the plans had to be revisited because they were not approved before Formby’s neighbourhood plan came into force.
When the plans were originally discussed in 2019, independent Formby councillors Bob McCann and Maria Bennett s aid the flood risk at the site had been understated, something later accepted by planning officers.
The developer submitted revised plans which they said would mitigate the flood risk, with the plans approved subjection to legal agreements.
In perhaps one of the most unusual of planning stipulations of the year, plans for a controversial development in Thornton which had attracted hundreds of objections were given the go ahead as long as pink-footed geese were fed “in perpetuity.”
Controversy surrounded several aspects of the development for over 200 homes at the site of the former Orchard farm in Thornton including construction on an area of green space and concerns over traffic impact on an already busy route leading through Thornton into Crosby.
A council conservation officer also objected to the loss of the 300 year old cottage – although an archaeological officer said documenting it before its demolition would form acceptable mitigation.
Concerns over the strain the development could have on local infrastructure, in particular around schools, were also raised.
Another, relating to the displacement of pink footed geese who currently make use of the site led to the unusual planning condition, as the development was approved by councillors.
The condition included a nearly £115,000 commuted sum to provide food for the geese at a nearby site.
Planning services officer Mr Faulkner said that while this was a nominal sum covering a 30 year period, the developer would have to produce a plan to feed the geese “in perpetuity.”
Councillors voted unanimously to approve the plans, subject to conditions including the payment of nearly £450,000 towards primary education, the development of a traffic light junction and other measures in Thornton and a commitment to perpetually feeding the pink footed geese.
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