Sefton rejects YHG affordable housing project
Opting to go against officer recommendation, councillors unanimously voted to refuse the application for 64 homes in Netherton because of concerns over air quality and noise.
Your Housing Group had wanted to build 31 affordable rent and 33 shared ownership homes on 3.5 acres on land south of Heysham Road. The scheme, designed by Birkenhead-based Ainsley Gommon Architects, was a mix of two-, three-, and four-bed properties.
It was the project’s location that proved to be its downfall – but not for reasons highlighted in the Sefton Council planning officer’s report.
The planning officer noted that the site was allocated for employment use in the Sefton Local Plan. But the officer noted that the land had been vacant for more than 20 years with no planning apps or interest shown. This made its use as a residential acceptable.
For Sefton councillors at Wednesday’s planning committee meeting, however, the site’s proximity to a railway line and industrial units raised concerns over air quality and noise.
The council’s environmental health manager had no such concerns and did not issue any objections to the project in the officer’s report.
Instead, planning officers wrote: “The environmental health manager is satisfied that the site can be designed to reduce transportation and industrial noise levels sufficiently to provide appropriate levels of outdoor amenity space for all plots”.
Regarding air quality, the environmental health manager similarly raised no objections to air quality impacts.
The project team included Futureserv, EELUC Projects, DTPC, Amenity Tree Care, Grasscroft, and Survey Operations. Wardell Armstrong was the air quality, ecology, ground investigation, and noise consultant for the project.
For those looking to learn more about the project, its application reference number is DC/2022/00727.
Just another example of how councillors operate in Sefton and Liverpool, even Wirral for that matter , advised to accept by planning officers plus no objections from the health officers, but the councillors are unanimous in their refusal, you can only imagine it was local pressure groups being behind this and the councillors fall in line.
No wonder the housing targets are never met, I would appeal if I was YHG.
By Anonymous
Because, of course, there are no homes next to the Northern Line, from Oriel Road to Southport. No sir-ee. And none anywhere in Sefton remotely near industrial areas. Nope, none at all.
By Sceptical
It’s time for a change to the system to ensure councillors can’t pretend they know better than planners.
By Progress
The Members of this Planning Committee owe their constituents an explanation as to why they’re wasting public money in refusing schemes on baseless grounds which inevitably are overturned at appeal. This is the latest in a string of decisions which disregard the views of officers entirely. It is arrogant in the extreme for Members (who have little understanding of the technical assessment of noise and air quality) to override the recommendations of professionals, on a scheme which received ZERO public objections!
By Anonymous