Campaigners against two housing developments in Cronton have vowed to continue their fight with the planned homes proving to be an issue in the forthcoming local election in Knowsley.
Two schemes have been proposed in the area, one off of Chapel Lane and the other off of Cronton Road.
Cronton Action Group succeeded in pushing the council to reject a plan by Taylor Wimpey to have an access point to its development site off Chapel Lane due to safety concerns. The campaigners have now promised to keep fighting against this scheme and another planned housing development by Bellway off Cronton Road.
Speaking with Liverpool Echo, Sebastian Burrow, Strategic Land Director for Bellway’s North West region made the case for his company’s proppsal. He said: “The council currently has insufficient land within the urban area to meet housing needs in the borough, and this site represents a logical and appropriate location for residential development. It is sustainably located within walking distance of local services and amenities in Cronton and is well served by public transport.”
However, the leader of Cronton Action Group, Sue Fealey, has concerns over the stress that more housing would add to Cronton. She said: “This is a village, we haven’t got the infrastructure. Two schools, a little row of shops, no GP.”
“I’m really disappointed that our local council don’t see these fields anymore as greenbelt, they’ve been greenbelt for years.”
Ms Fealey said she feels that Labour’s commitment to building 1.5 million homes to address the ongoing housing crisis is overlooking how this will affect more rural areas of the country.
She added: “Steve Reed’s comments (referring to his infamous slogan of “build baby build“) have basically overruled local councils. But we can’t give up the fight.”
Jan Haeck, a resident of Cronton and member of the group, expressed concerns about the local biodiversity. He said: “One of the problems is when you build anything on a piece of land, it will never go back to what it was.”
“Its made me feel very bitter to be honest. That people aren’t thinking about the future, they’re just thinking about short-term issues.”
Now with a proposed development off of Cronton Road, residents feel they have been cornered from both sides.
However, Knowsley Council have said: “No decision has been made on the application.
“If the public wish to comment on the proposals they can do so by entering reference number: 26/00006/OUT into the Council’s Planning Public Access system, emailing [email protected] or writing to Development Management, Knowsley Council, Municipal Buildings, Archway Road, Huyton, Merseyside, L36 9YU.”
Hear more from Cronton Action Group in the video below:
