Temporary traffic lights will be put in place as the work on 372 new homes on Liverpool Road commenc

Work is beginning on the 372 homes on Liverpool Road to the west of the Formby bypass. You might have noticed the cutting down of the hedgerow and trees as they prepare to commence the work which will affect everyone driving out at that junction on Liverpool Road to the bypass and back in to Formby. A spokesperson from the Highways Department at Sefton Council said: “The Council have been informed by one of the developers of the above site, that they are about to commence work on the development.” “The initial work will be to provide a temporary site access from Liverpool Road, this will be located between the roundabout and the bus layby. The works will take place between Monday 10th and Wednesday 19th February, under temporary traffic lights between 9.30am and 3.30pm. As the speed limit on the road is 60mph a temporary 20mph speed restriction will also be introduced to maintain the safety of those working in the area. The lights will be manned at all times they are on, to keep queuing to a minimum and in particular to ensure that traffic does not back up onto the by-pass.” “This is the first of a series of works connected with the development and will be followed by further works for the installation of services to the site and also Section 278 works, including the main site access.” “The Council is seeking as much collaborative workings as possible between the developers, their contractors and the utility companies in order to minimise disruption. We will keep you informed of the dates / durations of these additional works.”

The site covers some 12.3 hectares - the equivalent of 15 football pitches. The Morris application sought full planning permission back in November 2018 for the construction of 372 homes with associated access, parking, landscaping and infrastructure, being made up of a mix of two, three and four-bedroom houses and one and two-bedroom apartments. It was stated that the development would not cause harm to local heritage assets notably Lovelady’s Farm, and would provide open space within the site as well as a financial contribution towards improvements to the existing Alt Road play area to the north. The principle of development was established given that this site is allocated for housing development in the Sefton Local Plan. Original story here:

An application by Morris Homes for 68 homes to the south east of Formby has now been approved in last nights planning meeting on Wednesday 14th November.

All Councillors approved the application apart from Cllr Denise Dutton, Cllr Bob McCann and Pat from Lydiate. A pelican crossing will be put in place to gain access to the new bus stop on the other side of the road.

The application site forms part of a wider housing allocation, over which there is a committee resolution for the approval of 304 dwellings in the larger eastern part of the allocation. The Morris application sought full planning permission for the construction of a further 68 dwellings with associated access, parking, landscaping and infrastructure, being made up of a mix of two, three and four-bedroom houses and one and two-bedroom apartments.

Officers concluded the plan to be acceptable. The principle of development was established given that this site is allocated for housing development in the Sefton Local Plan. It will consist of 68 new dwellings, including 24 affordable homes, in an area which has a shortage of affordable homes and would assist in reducing the deficit in the Council’s housing land supply.

The site is bound by Liverpool Road to the south, and the Formby bypass sits to the east of the wider site. A masterplan prepared jointly by Barratt David Wilson and Morris for the overall site was approved in October 2017, and officers report that the proposal fits in with that masterplan. The works to provide access into the site were approved in April.

It was stated that the development would not cause harm to local heritage assets notably Lovelady’s Farm, and would provide open space within the site as well as a financial contribution towards improvements to the existing Alt Road play area to the north.

The remainder of the allocated site is being taken forward jointly by Barratt and David Wilson Homes. At September’s Sefton committee, it was resolved to grant planning permission for 304 homes at the site. Turley advises Barratt and DWH.

Original story when the planning application was passed for the 304 dwellings in September:

The planning meeting at Bootle Town Hall last night, Wednesday 26th September regarding the building of over 300 homes on Liverpool Road in Formby was voted for unanimously in favour by our Formby Labour Councillers. The application site, to the west of the Formby Bypass, covers some 12.3 hectares - the equivalent of 15 football pitches.

Cllr Denise Dutton, Deputy Leader of Conservative Group attended the meeting. Cllr Dutton said: “Sefton Labour Councillers voted unanimously in favour of building 304 houses on greenbelt land on Liverpool Road, Formby. Shame on you Cllrs Catie Page and Carla Thomas! That site is a 'flood zone' and should not be built on!! I made the point that no provision had been made for an educational contribution from the developers so where are all these additional children from both Andrews Lane and Liverpool Road supposed to be schooled? There are also the flooding and traffic issues, not to mention that no provision was made for additional school places but accordingly to Cllr Page, Formby has a surplus of school places so that should cover that then!!”

Cllr Simon Jamieson said: “In the photo is Cllr Catie Paige voting against the wishes of her residents wishes. She actually criticised the traffic surveys and then remembered she had to vote as told by her Bootle masters. It is a disgrace that no ward Cllr spoke against.” Parish Councillor Derek Baxter said: “I spoke out at the Planning Meeting last night commenting on behalf of the Parish Council, in reference to the considerable objection I submitted on their behalf. The standard of reports produced in support of this application were some of the worst I have seen in 5 years of commenting on Planning applications for Formby Parish Council. The ecology report was as much as 3 years out of date and the land had changed used from intensive agriculture to fallow land. This should have sparked a new ecological survey. Both the manual traffic survey and the automatic surveys were heavily disrupted by road works. This could lead to significantly under estimating the traffic flow predictions used to defend the decision to build. “ “The Developers flooding model was so far removed from the government flood alert predictions that they lacked credibility. The Parish Council submitted a picture of the Environment Agency flood warning produced for 2015 Storm Frank a 1 in 30 year storm, this clearly showed the development site at risk from a breach of Downholland Brook. However the developers model showed no risk to the site of a breach in Downholland Brook for a 1 in 100 year storm intensity plus a margin for climate change, this would equate to a storm 4 times the intensity of storm Frank the worst storm to hit the UK since the famous 1985 event that Michael Fish famously told the country not to worry about!” “The Development relies on the small Altcar (not the big Alt Mouth) pumping station which is due to be closed down by the Envirionment Agency in the next few years, and also requires water to go through spyphon under Downholland Brook, these are prone to blocking and very quickly become silted up and are expensive to maintain. Despite this no money was provided by the developer for its upkeep. I suspect all of these additional expenses will appear on resident’s Council Tax Bills in the coming few years. This will be salt in the wounds as they wait in the ever lengthening log jam trying to get in and out of our town.”

“The Labour group on the Planning committee voted en masse to approve this application including our own local Labour Councillor Catie Paige, the newly elected Ravenmeols Labour Councillor Nina Killen was a no show and Bill Esterson failed to send comments in objecting to the development. I hope residents will remember this when they go to the polls next May.” Residents need to remember actions like this and be more selective when they vote for Councillors next time around. Don't vote Party, vote Individual Integrity - whichever national party you vote for usually. As said by @SimplyFormby