Our submission demonstrates that the proposed allocation site, ?Land to the north of Winwick?, is significantly more constrained than the Rowland Homes site. The proposed allocation site: is significantly more sensitive in landscape and visual terms than the Rowland Homes site, being at a higher elevation, with much weaker boundaries, and affected by various other constraints that do not affect our client?s site; is devoid of hedgerow vegetation along its northern boundary, which is delineated by a post and wire fence, in contrast to the Rowland Homes site, the northern boundary of which is defined by an existing hedgerow; is constrained by existing pylon structures and overhead power lines, again in contrast to the Rowland Homes site where a high-quality residential scheme can be delivered without having to split the site into two distinct sections to avoid a no-build zone; protrudes much further (130 metres) into the countryside than the Rowland Homes site, which extends no further north than the current development pattern established by the residential properties to the west off Green Lane Close and Squires Gardens, and is highly enclosed on all sides by existing development, trees/vegetation and roads; and is situated to the immediate east of a Registered Battlefield, which therefore represents a heritage constraint to development at the site. The Council?s ?Heritage Impact Assessment? document of August 2021 confirms that development at the proposed allocation site would have a moderate impact on the significance of the Battlefield and its rural setting. Whilst the report therefore recommends that mitigation measures should be incorporated into any development scheme at the proposed allocation site, it would clearly be more logical to meet Winwick?s identified housing requirement at the Rowland Homes site and thereby obviate any potential for harm to the Registered Battlefield. The Council?s evidence base confirms that the proposed allocation site is more constrained than our client?s site, and that the proposed allocation site is incapable of accommodating the ?minimum of 130 homes? which the Local Plan identifies for Winwick. we are therefore bemused to find that the proposed allocation site continues to be identified within the draft Local Plan in preference to our client?s site, despite the documented constraints which render the site a less deliverable and appropriate opportunity for residential use than the Rowland Homes site.

It is important that the stated housing land supply is sufficient to deliver balanced and inclusive growth to ensure deliverability and a degree of choice in delivery, and so that the Green Belt boundary can endure beyond the plan period. We have therefore reviewed the sites that feature within the Council?s stated land supply, focusing on larger sites. It is clear that the assumed supply from a significant number of those sites is ambitious and/or unlikely to be achieved in practice. We highlight a selection of those sites in our submission. Delivery at some of the sites is questionable. Other sites are likely to come forward but not within the ambitious timescales assumed by the Council, thereby triggering a need for additional sites to be released in the short term in order to ensure a sufficient supply of housing across Warrington. That is particularly important given that the Council is proposing a ?stepped? approach to housing delivery, with lower rates of delivery in the earlier years of the Local Plan period. The examples highlighted in our submission represent a small snapshot from our analysis, which we may refer to at subsequent stages of the Local Plan making process. These examples demonstrate, however, that the stated supply from those sites alone appears to be ambitious. Further detailed scrutiny of the anticipated supply is likely to highlight other sites where housing delivery is will be slower than predicted, or in some cases will not come forward at all.