Plans for Maghull care village resubmitted

Jun 7 2012 by Katie Oakes, Ormskirk Advertiser

REVISED plans for a care village for elderly and vulnerable people in Maghull have been submitted to Sefton council.

Original proposals for a 90-bed extra care housing development, a 44-bed building for dementia patients and 15 independent lodges were rejected by planning chiefs in March.

The development to the east of Damfield Lane would be built on 4.4 hectares of the 10.8hectare site, the rest would be left as open space maintained by the company.

Councillors refused permission on three grounds:

Proposals fail to meet the requirement for development on green space.

No special circumstances for development on green space.

No identified local need for recreational open/nature space.

The amended plans include an ‘education theatre’ and discussions are ongoing about linking the raised walkway to Maricourt primary school.

The entrance to the site has also been moved.

The original plans were rejected on March 15 just two weeks before national government guidelines for planning was published, which favours sustainable development.

At the planning meeting in March, council officers had recommended the scheme for approval.

But campaigners from the Maghull Labour Action Group argued there were drainage issues and that the site was on green space.

Officers confirmed there were no drainage issues.

Sue Tyldesley, of the local authority’s planning department, urged councillors approve the scheme and “think of making the decision for the whole of Sefton.”

She said: “There are no technical planning grounds for refusing this development.

“There have been no objections from officers on the drainage and this development might help some of the problems.

“This land is not green space, it is former agricultural land which people don’t have permission to walk on even though they do use it. The development would create public open Green Space.

“If this goes to appeal and we lose we might be faced with the situation where the council doesn’t get the benefits currently proposed such as the affordable housing.

“This development fits in with our housing strategy.

“Please think about making the right decision for Sefton as a whole.”

Drainage problems are currently so bad that Cllr Patrick McKinley said residents had reported that “raw sewage is seeping into their gardens turning them into stinking quagmires.”

Developers Priory Asset Management (PAM) said plans for a new drainage system called SUDS will alleviate the problem.

Sustainable urban drainage system works by controlling the collection and release of surface water run off, imitating natural systems.

Stuart Grundy, of PAM said: “We look forward to getting a positive response, and we look forward to being the catalyst for creating investment and hundreds of jobs and providing care and accommodation for those who need it.”

The plans are expected to go back before the planning committee at a meeting on June 27.