Leverhulme lodges plans for 788 Green Belt homes
Originally, the estate had wanted to build 850 homes on 110 acres in Wirral – but cut the number after a public consultation earlier this year.
A total of seven planning applications have been submitted, with the largest covering 43 acres on land north of Thingwall Drive in Irby. Leverhulme has proposed building 290 homes on that site. The smallest application is for 15 homes on two acres of land north of Gills Lane in Pensby.
The applications include both market and affordable housing, with the homes ranging from two-bedroom houses to ones geared towards larger families. Leverhulme anticipates the project will provide more than 200 affordable homes.
“The submission of our planning applications is the next step in delivering a much-needed range of new homes and providing new access to, and enhancing the benefits of, Wirral’s countryside,” said Nigel McGurk, head of land and planning at Leverhulme.
McGurk said that the homes are part of the estate’s Leverhulme Vision project and would meet national planning policy’s push for high-quality design, sustainable communities, and improved green space.
“The plans submitted by Leverhulme achieve all these principles alongside other critical criteria in a viable and deliverable way,” McGurk said. “The Leverhulme Vision provides for reinvestment directly back into long-lasting beautiful places where people want to live and Leverhulme is in a unique position to deliver this.”
Leverhulme has stated that the architecture for the homes would draw inspiration from Port Sunlight and that the neighbourhoods would have ‘leafy streets’ with trees and gardens. The submitted proposals also include new cycleways and footpaths, plans for enhancing biodiversity and details on making the scheme energy efficient.
“Our plans will not only deliver on Wirral’s significant outstanding need to meet the area’s market and affordable housing requirements but will do so in a way that enhances the built and natural environment,” McGurk said.
“Leverhulme is synonymous with sustainable development, long-term stewardship, a commitment to health and wellbeing and sustained reinvestment into place. Wirral needs new homes – it is imperative that they are delivered in an exceptional manner.”
The estate described the seven applications as follows:
- A two-acre site located to the north of Gills Lane in Pensby, between Thorncroft Drive and Gills Lane Farm and stables. To provide up to 15 new homes.
- An 18-acre site located to the north of Gills Lane in Pensby and to the west of Barnston Road. To provide up to 153 new homes.
- A 9.6-acre site located a short distance from the local centre of Pensby Road, Pensby. It sits to the north of Gills Lane, between the existing residential streets of Dale View Close, Gwendoline Close and Thorncroft Drive. To provide up to 92 new homes.
- A 43-acre site located to the north of Thingwall Drive, to the east of Glenwood Drive and to the west of Arrowe Park, Irby. To provide up to 290 new homes.
- An 8.8-acre site located to the north of Raby Hall Road between the Autism Together complex and the residential neighbourhood on Blakeley Road at the edge of Bromborough. To provide up to 80 new homes.
- An eight-acre site located to the north of Raby Hall Road, with built development proposed to the west of Raby Hall and a footpath link to the east. To provide up to 38 new homes.
- A 20-acre site located to the west of Barnston Road and north of Milner Road within easy walking distance of Heswall town centre and Heswall railway station. To provide up to 120 new homes.
The Leverhulme Vision project team includes planner Strutt & Parker, masterplanner and architect alan Baxter, transportation consultant Curtins, landscaping consultant Barnes Walker, and community consultation consultant BECG.
If planning permission is secured, Leverhulme hopes to begin building the first batch of homes in 2023.
The applications for the project are not yet available on the Wirral Council’s planning portal.
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From a 1st look at the drawings it was clear that these homes took inspiration from the Port Sunlight estate, it`s bound to be a sought after product.
By Anonymous
Mr McGurk’s spin would sit comfortably with No 10 Downing Street’s current propaganda machine. If he believes Leverhulme’s plans to destroy existing green spaces and supplant working farms and their families will create new sustainable communities then he is very much mistaken. Why not be honest and state this is ‘development for profit’ and nothing less.
By N/A
When we see the Duchy in Poundbury and Nansledan, or the Moray Estate in Tornagrain they look to build something of lasting value, but yes it’s on greenfield and makes economic return. I’m not aware that the green spaces and farms of Wirral are materially different from those Cheshire West, but I know one local authority finds it a lot easier to build houses than the other. I happen to live in the part of Rural Cheshire West that’s outside green belt and takes a lot of that housing. No complaint about that, we need housing here too, but fully aware than many who take those houses are going to be commuting by car to Liverpool when they could be on Merseyrail.
By Rich X
More greenbelt squandered.
Then we moan we can’t supply our own crops.
By George
This will be an absolute disaster for the green belt in this area and is crammed into small areas of farmland-I know as I live in the middle of it and Barnston Rd, Pensby Rd and Gills lane are not capable of taking on the additional traffic. The housing that has been approved in this area to date has been mainly for ‘executive’ homes or flats and is purely for profit. This is on what is currently farmland and is not wanted by local residents who already have to negotiate these roads and Barnston dip. Once our green belt is gone, we will never get it back. The council stated they would block building on the greenbelt in January in the local plan.
By Anonymous
I guess I was being too subtle. If you look at the green belt in the Wirral and the continuous ribbon that runs across North Cheshire to join up with Greater Manchester it’s actually where the rail transit lines are. The land south of this takes the housing, but isn’t served by good transit. That’s the the bizarre incentives set up by green belt.
By Rich X
I strongly feel that the necessary new housing on Wirral should come from brownfield sites not green belt which Leverhulme left in his wisdom for future generations. It is such poor shortsighted policy to cut down established trees, hedgerows and other habitat ideal for wildlife as well as humans to build on established green land then plant a few new trees around the Wirral to help the environment!! Please stop the Leverhulme planning for our generation and the next!
By Jean
Stop building houses and taking away wildlife areas . There are enough houses in this area!!!
By Anonymous
So all this lovely land vanishes for 200 “affordable” homes and 588 homes for those that pay for location.
No doubt it will happen .
They built on Bidstin hill marking 300 trees not to be knocked down .
Every tree vanished. All very sad
By Anonymous
Developement of this area would lead to extra traffic on rural roadways already congested, wirral council objective was no green belt developement
By Anonymous