A fierce battle is brewing over Whiston woods, a beloved green space straddling the border of St Helens and Knowsley, following plans to turn the woodland into a cemetery.
The “Save Whiston Woods” campaign is urgently calling on the public to object to the planning application by Knowsley Council.
They will be delivering 400 objection letters to St Helens Council tomorrow.
The council’s proposal involves carving up the 52-acre woodland with roads, car parks, and other infrastructure, a move that campaigners say will decimate wildlife habitats and eliminate a vital community space.
“This proposal is fundamentally flawed,” asserts the Save Whiston Woods campaign, expressing concerns over the loss of Green Belt land, environmental damage, increased flood risk, and traffic safety.
They argue the plan violates both national and local planning policies. The group points to alternative solutions, including utilising land Knowsley Council already owns next to its existing cemetery on Fox’s Bank Lane.
Whiston Woods, currently owned by Forestry England and part of the Mersey Forest, also holds significant ecological value, and the Rainhill Civic Society recently nominated the woods as an Asset of Community Value.
The Save Whiston Woods campaign urges the public to object to the planning application by contacting St Helens Council via email, the planning portal, or post by May 1. The group also offers pre-printed letters for residents to personalise.
The campaign was formed in March 2023 and now has approximately 800 members. They say they are fighting an uphill battle against Knowsley Council, who they accuse of dismissing their concerns and threatening legal action.
‘it’s quite frightening’
Sue Parry, 54, who started the campaign and has lived in Whiston for 26 years, said: “We just don’t know where this is going to end, it’s quite frightening.”
She added: “They could preserve these woods for generations; I want Knowsley to see how important this is to people. This community cares really passionately about these woods, and they don’t want to lose them.
“We’re going to fight it all the way, and we’re not going to stop for anything.”
Sue’s sister, Jackie, 60, said: “Right from the beginning, getting the word out has been difficult because we’ve been called liars. The council have claimed we have spread misinformation, but that’s just not true.
“We’ve got the written evidence, and we need people to listen to us and not believe everything they’re told.
“The council are supposed to work for us, they’re supposed to represent us, and they won’t engage with a community group that are concerned about where they live”.
Jackie added: “St Helens has already done an amazing thing by preserving the Green Belt and we hope that they will continue to protect it.
“They seem to care and have sense when it comes to the fact that people do need green spaces, so we hope that they will follow through with that and realise the importance of it.
“Listen to the people that live here, listen to the community. We’ve lost so much, leave us this bit left. Keep the woods for the living not for the dead. We’re not objecting to a cemetery, build it right on our doorstep, but don’t destroy our green land”.
John Taylor, 76, a campaigner and St Helens and Knowsley resident of over 50 years, said: “Knowsley are totally and completely disingenuous. Always have been, always will be. They’ve never ever done anything for the community.
“They have refused point black, right from the outset, to communicate with us. They are building anything they wish to without any thought or care about the people who actually live there.
“But St Helens Council has supported us in the past, and they have very strong environmental objectives. We believe the plan that Knowsley have proposed, fails to meet those objectives.
“There is no sense, no rhyme or reason to what they’re doing at all”.
‘The expansion of the current site is the preferred option’
Cllr Graham Morgan, Leader of Knowsley Council, said: “The Council has reviewed a number of sites which were unsuitable due to a number of factors including insufficient space, unsuitable land quality, and being located too close to residential properties.
“The expansion of the current site is the preferred option given its proximity to the existing Cemetery and the ground conditions being suitable for use.
“The proposal would create the additional capacity needed over the next 100 years by creating additional burial plots to allow residents of Knowsley and neighbouring areas to lay their loved ones to rest in their local area.
“Whiston Woods is a 20.14 hectare woodland site. The proposal includes using 4.4 hectares of the site (less than a quarter of the site) as an extension to the current Knowsley Cemetery.
“The remainder of the Whiston Woods site would remain as community woodland with investment made to support access into the site, to extensively improve the existing network of pathways, and provide seating areas and wider landscape habitats. The site will remain a fully publicly accessible site for all the community to use”.
Featured image (c) Sue Parry
