As usual, Cllr Simon Eardley attended the monthly meeting of Saughall and Shotwick Park Parish Council on Monday 3rd February 2025. His usual report is repeated below for those interested in reading about the various issues and activities he has been engaged with across the parish.
Report to Saughall & Shotwick Park Parish Council - from Cllr Simon Eardley
For 03 February 2025
Joint ‘Surgery’ report – 18 January 2025
I am grateful to the Chairman of the Parish Council, Cllr Young, and PCSO Wendy Leason for joining the above surgery which took place outside the Co-op. A number of residents approaches us to discuss a range of issues, including ongoing drainage challenges in the village and concerns regarding parking of vehicles in the vicinity of the former Park & Ride site on Sealand Road. All issues requiring specific action by CWaC have been actioned as necessary.
Shotwick Park Project
You will be familiar with this information already, but I am repeating it here for completeness as it appears on your agenda at point 6. As per the statement issued by CWaC on 23 January 2025:
“Officers from Cheshire West and Chester Council met with Saughall Parish Council recently to discuss the Shotwick Park site. The meeting was arranged following the Council’s Cabinet agreeing that Shotwick Park should remain in public ownership and provided the opportunity for the Council’s lead officers on the project to listen to feedback from the Parish Council. Discussions included how the Council can work collaboratively with Saughall Parish Council to ensure the views of local people are considered when developing the final plans for the site, providing residents with an opportunity to help shape the future of this green space and create a legacy for residents and future generations. As highlighted at the Council’s Cabinet meeting in November, plans will not affect public access to the footpath network on this site or the ancient scheduled monument of Shotwick Castle, ensuring the relevant requirements for funding and habitat creation are met.
Further details about engaging with the community and users of the site will be shared on the Council website and via Parish Council channels when available. This will provide an opportunity for people to share ideas for the site to ensure the masterplan is reflective of how residents would wish to enhance the site to allow nature to thrive, whilst creating a space for the community to access and enjoy and playing its part to help west Cheshire become a carbon neutral borough by 2045.”
Pear Tree Farm Development update
I valued the opportunity to meet with a number of residents on 21st January 2025 regarding ongoing concerns relating to the Pear Tree Farm development. At that meeting, I agreed to make further contact with CWaC Planning and Enforcement officers to relay a number of queries. This has now been done and a reply was received on 29/01/25. This is given below although it does not include the various attachments referred to. Should a parish councillor wish to see these, please let me know and I will pass on. For ease, the queries I posed are shown in black text and the response is given in red.
Separate to the below, in preparation for the meeting on 21/01, I asked for a ‘status update’, and CWaC officers advised as follows:
“The current status is that following the enforcement notice and failure to comply, the case has been sent to legal litigation for prosecution. Unfortunately, this process will take time.”
Responses to queries sent to CWaC, 29/01/25
Q: Are Thompson Developments engaged with any other sites within the Cheshire West and Chester Council area?
A: Not that we are aware of, I believe that most of the sites they develop are in North Wales (Buckley Area).
Q: Please can clarification be given as to what are the exact plans that were approved. There appears to be some confusion in the minds of residents in relation to this.
A: There are several sets of approved plans firstly under the original permission and secondly those details required to be discharged by condition. The approved plans are listed on the decision notice of the FUL and in each discharge of condition letter. (I have attached the two DIS application decisions and the relevant plans in relation to the outstanding matters.
Q: What precisely are any enforcement actions related to (i.e. what is the CWaC understanding of outstanding matters)?
A: The outstanding matters are that the site has not be completed in accordance with the approved plans or discharge of condition details, namely:
- Condition 7 (amenity space/play area)
- 9 (highway network within the site)
- 10 (works within the highway – i.e. within the land owned by the Highways Authority)
- [Also condition 5 - landscaping].
I have attached a copy of the Breach of Condition notice which sets this out in detail.
Q: Do developer obligations ‘drop away’ at some point?
A: This could possibly occur if the site was sold.
Q: What is the position in relation to the Section 278 bond?
A: This is a Highways Authority responsibility. The bond cannot be released until the works are complete. If the Highway works (only those within the main road and external footpath) are not completed, then the Highways Authority could choose to draw down on the bond to complete the works themselves.
Highways matters
- Darlington Crescent – request from a resident for bollards in a certain location (between 40 and 64. This was logged last December with CWaC and their response received on as follows: “Apologies for the delay with this response. Unfortunately, Highways cannot help with the installation of bollards as it is not part of the adopted highway. We know that the verge is mowed by our Street Care teams and the land is owned by the Council. Therefore, I have passed your request to our Property Services department who maybe able to help.” I have replied as follows: “The Council took the view that it could install bollards in a similar (not exactly the same scenario) location elsewhere in Saughall [image attached]. This is Parkway, Saughall (geographically near the rear of the church and its car park although that fact isn’t relevant). I am willing to consider funding the installation from my Member Budget in the future potentially. I look forward to hearing further on this in due course.” I will update further in due course.
- Fiddlers Lane edge deterioration / hazard (between Kingswood Lane and Parkgate Road). Cllr Storrar and I have been in correspondence regarding this location and in turn I have been in dialogue with CWaC highways. On 14/01/24 they advised as follows: “Please accept our apologies for the time taken to resolve the issue where a vehicle has driven beyond the edge of the carriageway, the solid warning line was installed at the location to highlight that vehicles should not travel beyond it. Our contractor has arranged for cones to be placed along the damaged verge as a temporary make safe, we will be arranging a planned repair [to] the section of damaged verge in the near future.”
Member Budget
I am grateful to parish councillors for their responses to my request for approval to proceed with a last minute application for funding in respect of my Member Budget. This was all submitted on 31 January 2024 and should see support issued for the following projects in Saughall in the coming weeks:
- £48 for Saughall Uniformed Organisations – security features.
- £288 for the parish newsletters (an increase on the original intended budget from me of £154).
- £1078 towards the costs of a new village sign (production and installation) on Parkgate Road.
Cheshire West and Chester Council Budget 2025/26
The ‘Budget Council’ meeting of CWaC will take place on 20 February 2025. The Labour administration, not surprisingly, are proposing a 4.99% increase in council tax which is their standard approach. I will almost certainly vote against such an increase and will be looking to make amendments to the budget to invest more resources into key areas of concern which are raised with me by residents, such as highways. I will advise you further of the outcomes around all this in due course.
Planning matters
The future of planning policy and its potential implications for the borough have been on the radar and discussed now for several months. I have summarised below some points which you may find of interest. In my view, this emphasises the value of the parish council pursuing its own Neighbourhood Plan option which I know you are actively considering.
- Cheshire West and Chester’s housing target has been significantly increased by government (CWaC have consistently provided circa. 1100 per year in recent years) to 1914 per year.
- Under previous rules CWaC had approx.. 11 years land supply. But the new government target leaves CWaC with just 2-3 years supply.
- Because CWaC do not have 5 years land supply, the requirements of our Local Plan and Neighbourhood Plans carry much less weight - with the balance in favour of the developer. And applications are more likely to be won at appeal by the developer.
- CWaC expect to receive speculative applications to develop land not previously identified in the Local Plan.
- These speculative applications, which would most likely have been refused prior to the new government targets, would likely be approved to meet the new targets.
- These speculative applications will likely be in rural areas, particularly green belt, which will impact upon existing communities. Essentially there will be no ‘brownfield first’ policy.
- CWaC has overachieved on its housing targets EVERY year since 2010 and has consistently built more houses than other local authorities in England.
Whilst I understand that there is a shortage of houses in England, I am most concerned to see sustainable development - where the required infrastructure like roads, schools and GP surgeries - are built alongside and the right type of houses. Brownfields should always be the first places to be developed, instead of Cheshire’s green fields – in my view. The reality seems to be that CWaC will be penalised by the Labour government for consistently overachieving on our existing housing targets - that is unacceptable – again, in my opinion.
Miscellaneous
- Lighting column 21, Hermitage Road / junction with The Ridings. Column light not working. Reported on 06/01/25. Ref. CE676156279.
- Lighting column 4, Fiddlers Lane / Kingston Court junction. Column light not working. Reported on 16/01/25. Ref. CE679415253.
- Lighting column 9, Church Road. Column light not working. Reported on 21/01/25. Ref. CE680665893.
- Lighting column 21, Church Road. Column light not working. Reported on 21/01/25. Ref. CE680666288.
- Lighting column 1, Church Road – bus terminus. Column light not working. Reported on 21/01/25. Ref. CE680667016.
- Major flytipping incident, Lodge Lane – reported to the ‘CWaC Farms Team’ on 31/01/25 for clearance. Building rubble and waste noted.
- Deterioration around a drainage gully/grid (vicinity of 11 Saughall Hey). Reported on 01/02/25. Ref. CE683845835.
- Sweeper request – border with Blacon, pavement on the left-hand side into Little Saughall. Reported on 01/02/25. Ref. CE683844609.
- Surface deterioration, sinkage in road surface and silted gully (in the vicinity of 63 Greenway and top end of Saughall Hey). Reported on 02/02/25. Ref. CE684007064 (surface and sinkage) and CE684007064 (silted gully).
