Parish council sparks latest David vs Goliath confrontation over huge housing scheme

A Parish Council is taking on Halton Borough Council, again, to block a housing scheme that would double the size of Halebank village.

Halebank Parish Council is challenging the legality of the decision allowing developer, Haworth to create a massive scheme on a sensitive greenfield site.

It comprises 56 acres off Hale Gate Road and would create up to 500 homes, up to 100 senior living residences, a primary school, and a local centre.

The Parish Council, which has won three successful Judicial Reviews against Halton, including planning permissions for an Amazon mega-shed and a Veolia waste processing facility, warned councillors that they would once again mount a legal challenge in the event of the Haworth application being passed.

It will now be issuing a Pre-action Protocol letter to Halton Council as the first stage in an application for Judicial Review.

The parish council complained that the plans for the new housing development were only passed at the development management committee meeting on the casting vote of the acting chair, Cllr Rosie Leck, on January 15.

Parish Council Vice Chair, Cllr John Anderton, said: “Planning officers admitted in their report that the application was non-compliant with Halton’s Local Plan. It proposed land uses and locations for uses that were clear departures from planning policy and failed to meet with Local Plan requirements for sustainability and public transport accessibility.”

He added: “Our planning and legal team have identified additional deficiencies with the application and the procedural process leading up to the committee’s decision.

“As before we have every confidence in the strength of our legal case and disbelief that Halton have once again made a seriously defective decision.”

Halebank Parish Council, along with neighbouring Hale Parish Council, recently made direct representations to the land owners, the Fleetwood Hesketh family, for direct dialogue to forge a new, more sustainable and appropriate planning approach.

Parish Council Chair, Cllr Terry Colquitt, said: “It’s completely unacceptable that there has been no direct face-to-face dialogue between the applicant, their agents or the landowners with the people of Halebank and Hale who will be massively impacted by this enormous and environmentally destructive development.

“Despite assurances from Halton Council planners and Council Leader, Cllr Mike Wharton, that they would broker dialogue, as well as promises from the Fleetwood Hesketh family, there has been a complete lack of respect shown for local people and the two Parish Councils.

“There is still time for proper consultation and dialogue to take place, but in the meantime we will be issuing a Pre-action Protocol letter to Halton Council as the first stage in an application for Judicial Review.

“We have fought and won in the past and we are prepared to fight and win again.”

He added: “Councillors were clearly concerned by many aspects of this proposed development including loss of green space, the absence of supporting infrastructure and the impact of vastly increased traffic on the Ditton rail bridge over the West Coast mainline.”

The parish council said Halton officers were unable to reassure councillors about the structural condition of the 150 year old bridge as a comprehensive survey would require the closure of the West Coast mainline for an extended period.

A council report had previously identified the uncertain condition of the bridge as a serious constraint to future growth and development.