Wain Homes resubmits pitch for 99 St Helens homes

With a rebuttal for each of the eight reasons cited in the council’s refusal of the project last year, the housebuilder is now hoping to win over the local authority regarding its proposed neighbourhood in Newton-le-Willows.

St Helens Council unanimously turned down Wain Homes’ application to build 99 homes off 12 acres off Mill Lane in December, a decision that was in line with officer recommendation.

To justify the decision, councillors pointed to a lack of an ecology report, noise survey, and air quality assessment. Each of those reports has now been compiled, with ERAP writing the ecology statement and RSK Acoustics handling noise and air quality.

Councillors had also rejected the earlier application because of a perceived lack of commitment to affordable housing. In the new submission, there is a clear 30% affordable housing provision, which is compliant with the council’s housing policies.

Two reasons for refusal focused on highways and access concerns, namely the access road and emergency access road going through safeguarded land and potentially ruining chances for that plot to be developed in the future.

In the design and access statement for the project, Emery Planning counterargues that the construction of the road would be alongside a railway, thus enabling much of the safeguarded land to be developed as residential if needed.

The other traffic-related reason was that there was not a safe way for cars to access the neighbourhood. A new transport assessment from SCP addresses that concern.

A revised flood risk assessment speaks to another ground for rejection – the need for confirmation that the new homes would not negatively impact clarification that the homes would not increase flood risk in the area. The council also wanted evidence that Sustainable Drainage Systems hierarchy had been followed.

Another reason for refusal was the provision of an inadequate landscape plan and mitigation strategy for the loss of trees. Wain Homes has submitted a landscape and visual assessment by Barnes Walker to refute both points.

In addition to Emery, SCP, and Barnes Walker, the project team for the Wain Homes scheme includes TBA and DGL Associates.

You can learn more about the project by searching application reference number P/2023/0619/FUL.