There has been significant growth in the Great Sankey area during the past 20 years, which has all led to an increase in population and demand for social infrastructure, as well as increased pressure on the road network. Generally the infrastructure development has been post development, and does not seem to benefit Residents but large industrial concerns and passing traffic. The vision of the Plan contains a commitment that any new development should provide benefit to new and existing communities. The experiences of Great Sankey Residents to date suggests that there will be a degree of cynicism regarding this statement. This scepticism is compounded by the fact that development in the town south of the Manchester Ship Canal has avoided the upheaval which Great Sankey and other neighbouring areas have experienced and this is reinforced by the reduction in the proposed development in the south in this updated version of the Local Plan.

Based on previous experience, it is anticipated that routes within Great Sankey will be used by many Residents and commercial vehicles for access to the Fiddlers Ferry site, particularly J8 of the M62 and the local roads (Omega Boulevard, Skyline Drive, Lingley Green Avenue through to Stocks Lane, St Mary?s Road or Lane Ends). These roads are already well used and traffic levels will be exacerbated by the recent approval of the SW Extension of Omega for development by St Helens Council. The Western Link Road will also increase the demand on the road network. A new link road to the M62 should be provided to provide direct access to the Fiddlers Ferry site. Public and active transport is often not a viable option for many in terms of cost, timing, and route availability and whilst financial packages may be offered initially to support public transport, once this finishes, routes are often no longer sustainable.

The provision of green space within the site is welcomed because there is a shortage of such areas in Great Sankey and Penketh due to the large amount of development which has already occurred. Every effort should be made to increase this green space with a guarantee that the identified areas will not be diminished at any point during the development of the site. Paras 10.3.23 and 10.3.24 recognise the importance of the Mersey Estuary SPA and the requirement that the development should not adversely affect the integrity of the SPA.