THELWALL HEYS PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT
1) Agricultural land.
68% of the land at Thelwall Heys is top quality Grade 1&2 which compares to only 15% of Grades 1&2 in Cheshire and 20% across England so Thelwall Heys is top quality agricultural land which should be protected.

2) Special Landscape Character Status
Thelwall Heys has been identified as a landscape type worthy of special landscape character status due to its small-scale landscape of pasture, hedgerows and mature trees.

3) The Thelwall Heys property is Grade 2 listed.

4) Wildlife and the Environment.
a) Environmental surveys found 32 different bird species present at Thelwall Heys including several who at that point were deemed to be of high importance due to their ?red? status. These included Grey Partridge, Skylark, Tree Sparrow, Linnet, Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting.

b) Ponds at Thelwall Heys contains rare water life

c) Development would result in the loss of a large number of mature trees and historic hedges

d) The whole of the Thelwall Heys site was put into Greenbelt in the early 2000s. In 2006 developers tried to overturn this decision. WBC defended the Greenbelt at Thelwall Heys vigorously. The new plan says that building on Thelwall Heys would not have a material impact upon the Greenbelt so what has changed

e) Flooding - surface water from other areas (Appleton Thorn and High Legh) naturally makes its way towards the Mersey flowing along water courses that include Thelwall Heys. Flooding occurs regularly floods and if Thelwall Heys is built on there would be nowhere for this water to go.

f) Access - Thelwall Heys is enclosed by the A50, Stockport Road, Transpennine Trail and Bridgewater Canal. Access will therefore have to be via the A50/Cliff Lane. Traffic speed data collected using the Police?s traffic monitors has shown that drivers regularly drive at excessive speed suggesting access into Thelwall Heys for 600+ vehicles a day would pose a significant safety concern.

g) Thelwall Heys is bound by the TPT and the Bridgewater Canal which are highly valued and used by local people for recreation and exercise both of which are important for physical and mental well being. The proposed development would fundamentally alter the outlook and ambience of this area and cause significant noise and disruption during. Building at Thelwall Heys will result in the loss of open green space that is enjoyed by people using the canal and TPT and which has been enjoyed by so many during the pandemic.

There is no detail about how drainage would be improved new green space provided, how the characteristics of mature trees and hedges would be retained or new provided and how they would be funded.

Key areas of concern about this version of the plan are:

1) Lack of Infrastructure
The plan relies on significant building of new homes and employment facilities across the Borough, many of which are away from the town centre increasing reliance on roads and bridges that are often already congested and over capacity.

There appears to be a reliance on developers or other external funding to facilitate essential work - the Waterfront will need a masterplan for infrastructure and is reliant upon development of the Western Link, Peel Hall will need extensive highways and transport improvements that are currently unquantified, Fiddlers Ferry will also need a plan to be prepared by landowners to overcome existing issues with transport and community infrastructure.
There is no details on how these can be achieved.

2) Pollution
The additional vehicles are likely to add to existing poor air quality and congestion. Whilst the plan indicates some new roads, there is no clarity about where these will be, how they will be funded or whether they will be built before new development takes place

3) Public Services
How will increased requirements for education, health services and reliable public transport be developed and funded?

4) Housing Numbers, Employment Land and Greenbelt

The number of new homes to be built is higher than the most recent growth estimates for the town predict (building 816 houses a year from now until 2038) ? This is also a higher number than have ever been built before and, with more recent calculations suggesting a smaller future population than has been used for the plan, are the proposed numbers of houses justified?

The housing proposals are especially of concern as even though the Plan suggests that the Town Centre will be developed and other brown field sites (e.g.Fiddlers Ferry) it fails to establish the requirement to regenerate the town centre and build on brownfield sites before green spaces e.g Peel Hall and Thelwall Heys ? is this justifiable?