The site would be accessed by turning south off Fleet Lane in St Helens. Credit: Google Earth

Date set as Breck and Northern Trust appeal St Helens refusal

27 August 2026 15:58 Neil Tague Comments (0)

Rejected last November on six grounds, the partners wans to deliver 52 homes once a property off Fleet Lane is demolished.

The hearing will be carried out on 14 October, the appellant team has been told, with proceedings expected to take a single day.

This will be an informal hearing held at the Town Hall.

Breck Homes, working in partnership with Northern Trust, put in for planning permission in March 2025. De Pol was and is the planning adviser.

Although some planning documentation talks of 54 homes, when the application was assessed as recorded in the officer report, 52 homes were proposed: four one-bed, 26 two-bed, 18 three-bed, and four four-bed.

The four-acre Parr site would be opened up by the demolition of a bungalow at 524 Fleet Lane, this being the sole access.

The application was refused, with a decision notice handed down on 28 November. The officer report set out six grounds for refusal:

Green Belt development. Although officers said the site does meet the definition of Grey Belt, the proposal does not meet a demonstrable unmet need, and therefore would represent inappropriate development, harming the Green Belt.
Failing to comply with the objectives and policies of the Bold Forest Area Action Plan and St Helens Local Plan by not entering into a legal agreement to secure planning obligations in piacular footpaths and connectivity in Bold Forest.
A housing mix that did not comply with the latest strategic housing market assessment.
Failing to provide adequate width on the bends of the scheme’s internal highway. With a long, single entry cul-de-sac also included, it was felt the passage of large vehicles could be problematic, with highway officers raising concerns.
Failing to provide sufficient ecological information, with the Biodiversity Net Gain metric questioned.
Insufficient information within a bat assessment.

A decision is expected to be issued on or before 26 January 2027.

Breck and Northern Trust’s project team includes Trevor Bridge Associates, LDE, UES, IGE Consulting, Enviro Solution, Prime Transport Planning, Rachel Hacking Ecology, and Urban Green.

The appeal reference number is 6010284. The St Helens Council planning portal reference for the original application is P/2025/0174.