The revised SVLP 2021 fails to comply with the DtC on the grounds that no assessment or understanding has been presented which deals with the likely imbalances of jobs and homes within the borough as a result of the Council?s strategic economic growth plans and delivery of housing only to meet demographic need. The SVLP 2021 is therefore not legally compliant.

The strategic planning policies, as drafted, do not reflect the Council?s vision for Warrington 2038 and beyond. The proposed strategy is at complete odds with Warrington?s stated long term growth objectives. Strategic policies are not positively prepared and housing growth is supressed to meet only demographic needs.

The proposed strategic policies on housing do not translate to ensure sufficient homes are delivered to support its economic growth plans. The evidence illustrates that housing will be suppressed in future years as it is forecast on basic demographic need alone. The evidence on need fails to address acute affordable housing shortfalls, market signals and more fundamentally it completely ignores the economic growth strategy proposed. The local plan is therefore not considered to be sound.

The proposed approach to proceed with a high economic growth agenda is welcomed but planning for the baseline housing growth to meet minimum demographic need is a serious error of planning judgement on the Council?s behalf. Not only does it disregard national planning policy objectives to boost the supply of new homes but to continue such a planning strategy will no doubt lead to imbalances between large scale significant employment growth and new homes resulting in exacerbated house prices, unsustainable travel patterns and large scale in-commuting. Planning for the absolute minimum based on demographic housing need alone with no consideration given to market signals, affordability let alone the increase in job provision over and beyond baseline increase associated with the job forecast set out in the EDNA (2021) is flawed and unsound. In additional the Council's assumptions on delivery from urban capacity sites is overly optimistic and the Council has therefore failed to identify enough land to meet its housing requirement. Spatial strategy and in particular level of development allocated to Fiddlers Ferry site, Thelwall Heys and the settlements is further challenged. The stepped housing requirement is not justified and is not consistent with national policy.

Affordable housing need will not be met as a result of the proposed housing requirement. This policy is therefore not effective, justified nor consistent with national policy.

Support for the Council's ambitious economic plans however housing growth is not aligned with this. The HNA 2021 has not assessed housing need based on historic take up rates and instead uses unrelaiable labour demand forecast.

Support for the Council's ambitious economic plans however housing growth is not aligned with this. The HNA 2021 has not assessed housing need based on historic take up rates and instead uses unrelaiable labour demand forecast.

Support the Council?s objective to ensure Warrington?s revised Green Belt boundaries maintain the permanence of the Green Belt in the long term. However, we disagree with the Council?s identified areas of land to be removed from the Green Belt and the new defined boundaries on the grounds that the approach is unsound. Tehre are no exceptional circumstances to justify local level site allocations in the outlying settlements. Similarly Fiddlers Ferry and Thelwall Heys allocations are not justified. The SEWUE is not effective and should be extended to reinstate the full former Garden Suburb.

Object to transport policies under objective W4. The spatial strategy to deliver new homes will exacerbate dependency on the private car and will further impede the delivery of critical transport infrastructure to encourage shifts in travel behaviours.

Whilst the location of the allocation is supported in principle, the boundaries are not justified by the evidence base. In terms of capacity of the sites to deliver 4,200, there is no robust evidence to support this claim. The eastern boundary of the site is not durable. The allocation would therefore fail to deliver the homes required without the need to review Green Belt boundaries within the plan period and beyond. The allocation fails to meet wider policy objectives such as those contained within the LTP4 .

The Fiddlers Ferry allocation is not suitable for the development of new homes. It will narrow the Green Belt gap between Warrington and Widnes, infratstructure needs have not been fully considered, the southern part of the site is susceptible to flooding and the site is sensitive in terms of ecology.

Heritage and ecology constraints mean the allocation is not justified. The benefits of the allocation do not outweigh the hard caused by removing this land from the Green Belt. The allocation is not justified by the evidence base (namely the SA which does not assess the site against the Garden Suburb option).

There is no evidence to support the specific allocations at the Outlying Settlements. There are no exceptional circumstances provided to justify the need for the allocations at these settlement or scale of land release from the Green Belt.

There is no evidence to support the specific allocations at the Outlying Settlements. There are no exceptional circumstances provided to justify the need for the allocations at these settlement or scale of land release from the Green Belt.

There is no evidence to support the specific allocations at the Outlying Settlements. There are no exceptional circumstances provided to justify the need for the allocations at these settlement or scale of land release from the Green Belt.

There is no evidence to support the specific allocations at the Outlying Settlements. There are no exceptional circumstances provided to justify the need for the allocations at these settlement or scale of land release from the Green Belt.

There is no evidence to support the specific allocations at the Outlying Settlements. There are no exceptional circumstances provided to justify the need for the allocations at these settlement or scale of land release from the Green Belt.

There is no evidence to support the specific allocations at the Outlying Settlements. There are no exceptional circumstances provided to justify the need for the allocations at these settlement or scale of land release from the Green Belt.

The proposed policy fails to include flexibility in the plan and provides no contingencies if sites fail to deliver in line with the trajectory. There is a need to identify safeguarded land in order to ensure the Council has a contingency option to meets it housing obligations over the plan period.