Residents urged to show their feelings

THE public inquiry into the controversial plan to build 150 homes at Peel Hall, Warrington, will open on Wednesday, May 29 – and nearby residents are being urged to show the appeal inspector the strength of local opposition to the scheme.
Campaigners are sending posters to residents of Houghton Green asking them to display them in their windows when the inspectors visits the area.
The inquiry will be held at The Jubilee Suite, Orford Jubilee Hub and is expected to last for up to three days. The first day’s hearing will start at 10am.
Developers Satnam have appealed against Warrington Borough Council’s failure to determine their planning application.
Borough councillor Geoff Settle (pictured), a leading opponent of the scheme, said: “We are asking everyone in Houghton Green to display the posters in their windows or gardens, etc. We will also have posters around the village.
“Anyone who can is being asked to print more posters and display as many as possible in all of their windows. Let the Inspector know how they feel.”
A week after the Peel Hall hearing, the borough council’s Local Plan Core Strategy hearing will take place and the inspector for that hearing will also visit Peel Hall.
Cllr Settle added: “The Inspector for that hearing will also visit Peel Hall so we need to leave the posters in place until at least June 13.
Residents are also being asked to make an effort to attend the hearing – even if only for a few hours – to show solidarity and impress on the inspector that the development is unacceptable.
Cllr Settle says a note of interest is that the borough council is in talks with the Homes and Communities Agency about ownership of Peel Hall playing fields being transferred to the council.
Once this happened the council to apply for the fields to become Queen Elizabeth II Fields, which would give them extra protection from development.