Redrow and Maghull urge rethink of city's green space rules

REDROW, the company chosen to build houses on Sefton Park’s meadowlands, says too much attention has been paid to redeveloping brownfield sites in Liverpool.

And it wants the city council to take a closer look at the city's green areas with a view to releasing “under-utilised open space” for the construction of executive and family homes .

Redrow, founded and run by Garston-born Steve Morgan, made the call in the “Local Plan Submissions” - released today.  Its call was echoed by Persimmon Homes and The Maghull Group which says Liverpool’s green wedge and green space policies are too rigid and need review.

As well as comments from dozens of public and private bodies, individuals and institutions in the 75-page "wish list", the council has published a draft list of sites -suggesting areas which could be used to grow and develop the city over the next 15 years. They include Harthill allotments, Jerico Lane playing fields and Liverpool University's Carnatic and Dale Hall.

Demand

The report is the result of a widespread consultation has taken place aimed at identifying areas that could provide the housing, business, industrial units, open space and infrastructure the city needs in future.

Liverpool’s Local Plan - all local planning authorities are legally required to produce one - will set out how new housing and employment demand, estimated at over 40,000 new homes and 300 hectares of land for industrial and commercial use can be delivered by 2028.

The city council will now consider all the responses before publishing a draft Local Plan in summer 2015. That will clearly identify the sites being taken forward.

An independent inspector will hold a public inquiry in 2016/17, and only then will the council will adopt it – if they approve it.

The council received around 330 representations covering 280 sites with a combined area of around 1,000 hectares - less than one percent of the city. A total of 60 of the representations were about protecting existing sites from development or change. 

In its representations, Redrow says there has been too strong a focus on brownfield development in Liverpool.

The company says it is concerned there might not be sufficient available housing land within the city, and the city needs to review its greenbelt and green infrastructure to ensure sufficient land is identified to meet the housing requirement.

“Green infrastructure sites should be reviewed, particularly those in private ownership,” adds Redrow’s submilssion.

“Development should take place across the city to facilitate executive housing – requiring a review of Green Belt, Green Wedge and green space,” it adds, suggesting a 60:40 split between city centre/urban core and outer areas to provide more executive family housing and continue to regenerate urban core.

Green Party leader on the city council Cllr John Coyne says housing densities should be higher than currently planned to reduce the demand for green space to be given up for housing. He also wants the Local Plan to recognise and celebrate the traditional high density Victorian terraced housing.

“We should study the more successful and stable terraced housing communities and understand why they work,” Cllr Coyne added in his submission.

Cllr Malcolm Kennedy, the council’s cabinet member for regeneration, said: “We are a growing city with huge ambitions and the Local Plan will be instrumental in how our city looks, grows and develops in the future.

“The Local Plan is essential for attracting investment for the right uses in the right places.  If developers, investors and businesses don’t understand our aspirations they will go elsewhere, so this is about making sure we are in the best position to help the city prosper.

  “Each site will be fully assessed and analysed and then be subject to independent scrutiny during a planning inquiry to decide whether or not its inclusion will meet the city’s requirements.

The draft list of sites will be discussed at a special meeting of the city council’s Regeneration, Housing and Sustainability Select Committee on 23 September.