Sefton says no to Aldi and more primary school spaces
Councillors blocked proposals for a 19,500 sq ft discount supermarket on the former Porter Fuchsia’s plant nursery site in Formby and turned down plans to increase the capacity of Summerhill Primary School in Maghull.
Aldi’s proposals for a store off Southport Road were rejected in line with officers’ recommendations this week due to concerns about the Green Belt and traffic.
The scheme would have a “harmful impact” on the Green Belt due to the “scale and mass” of the proposed building, Sefton Council’s planning committee decided.
In addition, the committee said that Aldi had not provided enough information to satisfy the council that the scheme would not have a severe impact on the highway network.
To find out more about the plans, search for application number DC/2023/00548 on Sefton Council’s planning portal.
At the same meeting, Sefton Council’s planning committee went against the recommendation of officers in refusing the authortiy’s own plans to expand Summerhill Primary School in Maghull to make it two-form entry.
Sefton Council had requested consent from itself to build a two-storey classroom block to allow it to double its capacity from 210 pupils to 420 by September 2024.
The proposals were lodged in response to the area’s growing population. Sefton Council’s cabinet signed off the principle of expanding the school last year, a project that would cost £3.7m.
A report at the time said the number of homes being built in the Maghull and Aintree area would result in the need for an additional 425 school places up to 2036.
However, concerns about an increase in traffic on Grange Park resulted in the application being rejected.
Grange Park is a residential street that leads to a pedestrian access point for the school. Objectors to the project said doubling the size of the school could “exacerbate” current issues associated with parents driving children to the school via Grange Park.
Sefton Council’s highways team “have not had any complaints about parental parking on this road since their records started”, according to an officers’ report.
The official reason for refusal reads: “The proposal would result in increased noise and disturbance created by the comings and goings along Grange Park”.
To learn more, search for reference number DC/2022/01702 on Sefton Council’s planning portal.
Forget the fact the hundreds of thousands of shopper will have access to cheaper food and goods as well as providing millions in wages to the local economy over the years – it’s the slight increase in traffic that makes a difference – local councils somtimes have zero idea about what the priorities should be
By Stuart wood
Oh my, Nimbys and weak councillors strike again, a growing community with youngsters bringing life to an area, and families in turn who will have extra shopping options , and it all comes to a halt.
Reminds a bit of some years ago when Sefton messed IKEA around and they abandoned plans for a store there.
By Anonymous
Surely they can afford it via the taxi licensing coffers?
By Anonymous
Let’s be careful saying our elected members are “weak”, stupid (mine) or have “zero idea”, this has to be the perfect nimby plan – refusing your own school expansion plans now provides the perfect reason to knock back housing applications on lack of infrastructure grounds, It’s brilliant!
By Mr N Imby
Excellent decision! More cars, people and traffic are definitely not wanted in the area in fact just the opposite. We’ll done the councillors!
By Anonymous
Stop ruining beautiful areas with excess building. We purchased our properties in these areas at a higher price to pay for being semi rural!!!!!!
By Anonymous
The Maghull NIMBY lobby, which has an outsize voice as they tend to have plenty of time on their hands on no real problems to be concerned about, absolutely epitomise the line about “everyone’s house once being someone else’s view” – plenty of people living in houses where there were fields within living memory, sometimes bought them new, now pretending to be environmentalists. Sefton Planning Committee is increasingly barmy; perhaps Sefton being hit with some hefty costs following successful appeals might concentrate minds…
By Anonymous
NIMBY’s be “We want more houses as long as there are facilities for people especially school places, GP practices and such like” (Councils and developers look to provide facilities) ….”NO! NOT LIKE THAT”
By Sceptic
No we want fewer houses and fewer people…this is easy stuff to understand really.
By DaNimby
@12.47, “fewer houses,fewer people”, I suppose selective demolition of all homes with householders under 50 would then lead to less people.
By Anonymous
No Anonymous 4.09 . You’d never get away with that. It makes much more sense to have no reason to build them in the first place.
By Anonymous
Surely a Berlin type wall around Maghull and watch towers could help keep people out.
Oh and close that Meccano museum.
By Anonymous
Refusing their own application for a school expansion. You couldn’t make it up! Even better, refusing on highways grounds even though their own highways department state that they “have not had any complaints about parental parking on this road since their records started”. Brilliant. This is exactly why Councillors should not be involved in decision-making. They are absolutely clueless and pander to the vocal minority (probably 5 or 6 angry residents in this instance) rather than the quiet majority (the 100 or so households whose kids need a local primary school place)!
By Anonymous
Not sure who the school applicant was, whether it was the council or Education Committe but there needs to be an appeal.
By Anonymous