A Response to Wirral Local Plan Adoption

It gives us great pleasure to inform you that at the Extraordinary Council Meeting on Monday, 31st March, Councillors of all Parties unanimously ‘adopted’ the 

Wirral Local Plan, 

with special mention being given for our invaluable contribution over many years.  

So, thank you for your support.

ITPAS commenced its work on the Wirral Local Plan in 2014, becoming Founder Member of the 

Wirral Green Space Alliance (WGSA) in 2017, a voluntary consortium of over thirty Community, Leisure, Environmental, Heritage and Nature groups, along with expert individuals and advisers 

acting together as an effective working and pressure organisation.

Whilst not all our objectives were achieved, the scale of the result should not be underestimated.  

The Strategy of a Regeneration-led, ‘Brownfield-only’ Plan was ours, requiring a fundamental change of Council Authority and approach, convincing the Council that there was a better way, helping them to be successful against overwhelming odds at the months-long adversarial ‘Leverhulme Estates’ Public Inquiry, a High Court Judicial Review, and the equally months-long Local Plan ‘Examination in Public’.

Wirral’s Local Plan is unique in several respects, notably its being the only local plan nationally to be ‘Brownfield-only’ with all of its Green Belt protected from release and development.  

The task now is to DELIVER on and improve the Regeneration, Housing, Infrastructure and Public Service proposals. Failure to achieve to target could bring about the same outcome as would have been the case had the Local Plan been refused by the independent ‘Planning Inspectorate’, namely opening the way for ‘sustainable development’ in an uncontrolled fashion across our treasured Green Belt and other spaces. 

So, there is a continuing role for both ITPAS and WGSA, and for your valued support.

This Plan is a crucial document that outlines the development strategy for our Borough through

 to 2040 and hopefully beyond - shaping the future of Wirral. 

It involves much more than Housing, establishing up-to-date Policies for all aspects of life of its Residents, Visitors and Wildlife, including Employment, Health, Transport, Welfare, Leisure provision and more.
 

Whilst this is a necessary and pleasing milestone, there are serious RISKS, which include a possible 

Judicial Review of the Plan’s ‘soundness’ by its well-resourced opponents; Government Intervention including any imposition of an even-further-inflated Housing Target 

(totally unjustified by official ‘Need’ Data);  and the huge task involved in DELIVERY.  

We are glad to see the Council have accepted an Outline Business Case by Deloitte’s for 

necessary changes and increases in skilled personnel.

The Inspectors required mainly minor ‘Main Modifications’ to the Plan but none of a strategic nature and, although already unjustifiably high, the ‘Housing Requirement’ remains at an average of 800 dwellings p.a., a daunting target made more achievable by their acceptance of our proposal for a ‘Stepped Trajectory’, whereby success at a lower-than-average figure in the earlier years could encourage specialist 

Regeneration developers to become involved and add to the rate of delivery.

Reassuringly, the adopted Plan remains unchanged from the Submitted Document in respect of the ITPAS area and most locations outside of the ‘Regeneration Areas’.

 All Green Belt’ and our other Local Green Spaces remain protected.

This Plan officially replaces the Local Plan (UDP) from 2000.  It is the result of years of dedicated work by ITPAS, the Council and Wirral Green Space Alliance. Without their persistence and expertise, the Plan would not have been brownfield-focused but would have included Green Belt development.

 It has been a long and challenging journey, but our collective efforts have made a significant impact; 

and we would like to extend sincere thanks to Members for their support and encouragement.