Leverhulme green space for Pensby and Barnston rejected

An application by the Leverhulme Estate for a natural green space supporting its controversial housing plans has been rejected.

Leverhulme Estate put in eight housing applications this year for more than 1,000 homes on countryside in Wirral. The plans have proved controversial with thousands signing petitions, protests and seven out of eight applications have been rejected so far. The eighth is to be decided in February.

Leverhulme said the new green space would open up public access to 22.6 hectares of land and more than 3km of new walking routes to connect Pensby and Barnston.

They argue this green space and their housing applications would create "neighbourhoods which are distinctively Wirral with a beautiful and bespoke character" and provide "attractive extensions" to towns and villages in western Wirral.

Wirral Council criticised the proposed suitable alternative natural green space (SANG) plans as having "insufficient information" and evidence on the environmental impacts, what new habitats would be created or how drainage in the plans might be impacted.

The council also expressed concerns about the loss of agricultural land, particularly as some within the area for the SANG is considered the best in the country.

A letter from Sally Shah, the council's Interim Director of Regeneration and Place said: "It is not clear what habitat creation/enhancement will occur in the areas of open field, and whether the public will have access to these areas.

"If access is restricted to the field boundaries this would lead to increased disturbance of the proposed new habitat creation.

"In the absence of further information as to the extent of access across the site, the development is again considered to be in conflict with Wirral Unitary Development Plan policies."

The council was especially critical of Leverhulme in helping develop and improve the proposal. The letter said: "The Local Planning Authority always wants to work with the applicant in a positive and proactive manner.

"Unfortunately, in this instance it has not been possible to secure amendments to the proposal, or conditions which could reasonably have been imposed, which would have made the development acceptable and it was not possible to therefore approve the application."]

Representations from people and interest groups criticised a lack of information, insufficient packing, and no details on funding or future maintenance for the area.

The local flood authority objected to the application because of a lack of detail on surface water management. The Merseyside Environmental Advisory Service said required assessments had not been submitted as part of the application and considered it unlikely "new residents from the more distant application sites would regularly utilise the proposed SANG site" as they are more than 5km away.

Leverhulme Estate has the right to appeal the decision by June.