Westminster Park Residents Association

Time is running out! The CWAC consultation about the proposed housing development on Wrexham Road will close on Wednesday 16 November 2016 and it is vital that you make the Council aware of your opinions as this will affect all Cestrians and commuters in and out of the city.

You should be aware that there are some very worrying alterations to the plans in this development brief (available to view on the Council’s website) which were not on the first plans shown to the public last year.

Top of the list is access from the housing estate onto Lache Lane which will inevitably lead to a rat run through the estate to and from the Wrexham Road. There is no need for vehicle access at all from this estate to Lache Lane as there are three access points from the estate onto Wrexham Road.

Secondly, the traffic, which is already horrendous in the area at peak times, will reach gridlock unless improvements are made to the Chester road network. And this will not only affect travellers south of the Dee – it is likely to affect all parts of Chester.

As we know, if one part of our city gets snarled up, the knock-on effects are widespread. In the latest Local Plan (Part 2) there is yet again mention of the building of the Western Relief road, for which there now seems to be some political will to deliver. However, this should be built before the development of 1300 plus houses, not after it!

Thirdly, the proposed school on the site will not be opened until the seventh year of building at the earliest. This means that school places must be found for a minimum of 163 children before they get a school. In the meantime, places must be found for them in other local schools despite the fact that some of them are full or nearly a mile away. There is already talk of mobile classrooms …

You can comment via the CWAC website or you can email or post your comments – please make your views known before 16 November 2016.

Pauline Brown
Westminster Park Residents’ Association

Have your say on the CWAC Wrexham Road 1450 + housing development.
You may be concerned about the huge amount more traffic that will result, the possibility of a rat run from the Wrexham Road to Lache Lane or the overcrowding that is likely in our local schools. Whatever your views, make sure that you let the Council know what you are thinking. The more comments that they get, the more they have to listen – have your say!

Comment online by putting ‘Wrexham Road Strategic Allocation’ into Google or visit
http://consult.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/portal/other/wrexhamrd_devbrief
The online commenting facility will close at 23:59 on Wednesday 16 November 2016, so please make sure your comments are submitted by that time.

Comment by email or post
Email to spatialplanning@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
Post to: Planning Policy Team,
Cheshire West and Chester Council,
4 Civic Way,
Ellesmere Port CH65 0BE

All comments must be received by Wednesday 16 November 2016

Cheshire West and Chester Council is undertaking a borough wide “Community Governance Review” which means it will explore and examine what existing governance arrangements are in place. This will enable local residents to have their say in what happens in their local areas and, if necessary, the Council can propose changes.

Some communities in Cheshire West and Chester are represented locally by parish or town councils, funded through a separate charge on residents known as a parish precept. Town and parish councils are elected corporate bodies and their activities fall into three main categories: representing the local community, delivering services to meet local needs and improving quality of life and community well-being. They can provide and maintain a variety of local services including allotments, bridleways, burial grounds, bus shelters, car parks, open spaces, community transport schemes, events and festivals, footpaths, leisure and sports facilities, litter bins, public toilets, street cleaning and lighting, tourism activities, traffic calming measures, village greens and youth projects.

Other communities are represented by different forms of community governance arrangements e.g. community meetings, neighbourhood management, tenant management organisations, residents’ and tenants’ associations and community associations. These groups or organisations consider services such as winter gritting routes, grass cutting, bus services, the local environment or can host or stage local events. They are not funded through a separate precept. Areas represented by community governance arrangements, other than parish or town councils, are referred to as “unparished areas”.

Since April 2011, the Council has undertaken reviews of areas which were already represented by town or parish councils and, as a result, some changes to boundaries and parish council arrangements have been made. The Council is now embarking on a community governance review of the unparished area of Chester as shown outlined on the map.
Listed below are the wards which come under this
Blacon Boughton
Chester City Garden Quarter
Handbridge Park Hoole
Lache Newton

Since 2009, the City of Chester Charter Trustees have carried out ceremonial functions in Chester including the unparished area. They do not have wider community governance functions. The impact on the Charter Trustees of any new proposals for new parishes or parish councils would need to be considered.

This is Phase One of the consultation. Depending on the results of this consultation,
further consultation may follow.
The consultation period closes on 14 December 2016. There are a range of ways to
express your views:

• Complete this form or go online to: www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/CommunityGovernanceChester
• Email: Democraticserviceswest@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk and quote ‘Community Governance Review Chester’ in the subject field
• Telephone: 01244 972283
• Write to: The Research Team, Cheshire West and Chester Council, 4 Civic Way, Ellesmere Port, CH65 0BE

As a result of overwhelming numbers at the first meeting,

Westminster Park Residents’ Association has called a second Public Meeting to discuss the proposed development of 1300 houses on Wrexham Road.

The meeting will take place at:

Westminster Park Community Centre 

 8pm, Wednesday 2 November 2016  

All residents welcome

Westminster Park Residents’ Association has called a Public Meeting to discuss the proposed development on Wrexham Road.

The meeting will take place at:

Westminster Park Community Centre
8pm, Wednesday 26 October 2016

All residents welcome.

KEY DATES AND CONTACT DETAILS:

Wednesday 19 October   Start of Public Consultations:

• Taylor Wimpey/Redrow

Comment online:  http://www.wrexhamroadchester.co.uk

• Cheshire West and Chester Council

Comment online at:

http://consult.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/portal/other/wrexhamrd_devbrief

Or Email comments to:

spatialplanning@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

Or post comments to:

Planning Policy Team,

Cheshire West and Chester Council,

4 Civic Way,

Ellesmere Port, CH65 0BE

Wednesday 26 October Westminster Park Residents’ Association

8pm Public Meeting, Westminster Park Community Centre

Wednesday 2 November Final day of Developers’ Consultation

Wednesday 16 November Final day of Cheshire West and Chester Council consultation

Information supplied by: Westminster Park Residents’ Association

www.wp-ra.org.uk

Westminster Park Residents’ Association is urging people in south Chester, Wrexham and Flintshire to view and comment on the plans for the 1300+ housing development on the Wrexham Road in Chester which will be put on show on Wednesday 19th October 2016.

“This development will have a major impact on existing and future residents in this area and we must ensure that it includes all of the housing and facilities that are important for us,” said Pauline Brown, chair of the Westminster Park Residents’ Association.

The plans already feature a new school and health centre that will serve the whole area and Pauline is sure that local people will have other ideas about what should be built. “You may want a community hub, housing for the elderly, a nature reserve, a play area for your children, an outdoor gym to improve your fitness… there are countless possibilities, but obviously no guarantees.”

“It is vital that local people participate in this consultation to ensure that the development is high quality and offers the right mix of housing and facilities to meet our needs for the future. At the exhibition we will have the chance to register and comment on the plans – it is really important for residents to do that.”

“We only have one chance to get this right. We urge all local people to go to the public consultation on Wednesday 19th October 2016 and let us at the Residents’ Association have your views and ideas. You can contact us through our website www.wp-ra.org.uk, find us on Facebook or

Twitter or write to us via our post box in the Al Dente deli at Westminster Park shops.”

“This is your chance to shape the future of our area for us and for our children – grasp it now,” she added.

The exhibition of the plans will be available to view from 2pm to 8pm at Lache Community Centre, Hawthorn Crescent, Lache, Chester. If people are not be able to attend, the plans will also be available to view on the website: www.wrexhamroadchester.co.uk from 19th October 2016. All comments on the plans should be received by the developers by Wednesday 26th October 2016.

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Better quality development results from planning intervention

Despite spirited opposition from the Westminster Park Residents’ Association (WPRA) and Handbridge Park councillors Razia Daniels and Neil Sullivan, the appeal into the planning application for housing at the end of Sherbourne Avenue has been allowed.

Disappointed Chair of WPRA, Pauline Brown commented, “We have opposed this scheme because it is a piecemeal development and should be part of the wider Wrexham Road site plan. We are pleased however, that our objections have resulted in an improvement to the original scheme, with a reduction in the number of houses to be built from 41 to 31. This change will lead to a much higher quality development.”

Representations by Westminster Park Residents’ Association at the appeal also highlighted concerns about education, drainage, ecology and traffic in the area.

Local residents believe that the traffic implications of the development, both during and after construction, are very worrying.

“This site is extremely close to existing housing and to Belgrave Primary School, and the only access will be through the Westminster Park estate past the school. Deliveries of building materials and equipment will all have to go past the school entrance – this is going to put children and parents in great danger at drop-off and pick-up times in particular,” said Pauline Brown.

“In the longer term, we will have 50 plus extra cars driving through the estate on already busy roads, adding to the tailbacks on Lache Lane. Cheshire West and Chester Council do not seem to have considered the practicalities of this scheme when they approved it,” she added.

Local parents are worried about the impact that the new scheme will have on their ability to get their children into Belgrave Primary School. Cheshire West and Chester Council is proposing that any children living in the new houses should go to Lache Primary School, nearly a mile away, as Belgrave is full to capacity at present.

“This does not seem to have been worked out on a practical basis at all,” said Pauline Brown. “You cannot expect a four year old child to walk a mile to school in the morning. The new school proposed as part of the Wrexham Road development will not be built for many years, so where will these children go?”

There are also huge concerns about the impact of the building works on drainage in the area, as it is already subject to flooding.

“This site has a heavy clay subsoil which is about 10 feet deep, so when we have any heavy rain the water stays on the surface. We are very worried that when building work starts, surface water will flood our homes and gardens. It is very important that further work is done, before and during construction, to ensure that this water can be managed without causing damage to our homes,” stressed Lisa Sawyer, a resident whose house backs onto the Sherbourne Avenue site.

A pond situated close to the site is known to be home to great crested newts, as do several others in the larger site to be developed later. Local residents are concerned that when building starts on the site, the newts will not be able to move between the different ponds.
“At the moment the ponds in this area are situated in rough grassland, which allows the newts to move from one pond to another. When this development goes ahead, the newts in the pond near Sherbourne Avenue are going to have to cross a tarmac road to get to the other ponds. This does not seem to have been thought through properly,” said Pauline Brown.

For more information, please contact:
Jennifer Crew, Editor, Westminster Park Residents’ Association
Tel: 07752 854383