LABOUR CONTROLLED SEFTON COUNCIL BUILDING OVER AGRICULTURAL LAND
The Government’s Brownfield Land Fund
In July 2020, the Liverpool City Region was allocated £45m from the Government’s Brownfield Land Fund to deliver previously-developed, or brownfield, land suitable for at least 3,000 and preferably 4,000 homes. Then, in March 2022 it was awarded an additional £15m which will enable a further 1,000 homes to be built on previously developed sites in the Liverpool City Region. This results in a £60 million total of funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The money will be used for site remediation and other measures required to make sites ready for development.
Since then, the Combined Authority has supported eight projects across the Liverpool City Region with more than £19m invested to deliver 1,408 homes. In July 2023 the City Region indicated that there had been some slippage in the expenditure of this fund and had re-allocated some of the money to other projects.
This Government fund is intended to make use of redundant sites for new homes, rather than develop on irreplaceable and much needed agricultural land, especially green belt land.
Sefton’s Local Plan and development on agricultural land
However, Sefton Council in its Local Plan, published in April 2017, showed acres of agricultural land, garden centres and green-belt land as being suitable for new housing development.
Why did they adopt this solution rather than accurately calculate the vacant sites within the borough which had been previously built upon and which could be re-used for housing? Quite simply, it was easier and faster to promote pristine agricultural land to housing developers, get the houses built and get the community charge income flowing into the council coffers.
A stark example of the speed of this process is the fact that whilst the Local Plan was only published in 2017, some 6 years ago, numerous housing developers have been able to acquire agricultural land, design their schemes, obtain planning permission and build their new homes. Just look at Formby, Maghull, Lydiate and Thornton for examples where this is happening. Of greatest concern is that this policy has been promoted with little regard to the adequacy of existing infrastructure, roads, sewers, schools, doctors, dentists or shops.
Sefton’s delays in developing their own brownfield sites
By contrast Sefton Council have been extremely slow in marketing and developing their own redundant brownfield sites. For example, Sefton Council are the owners of the former Bootle High School site. This school closed in 2009 – 14 years ago. Rather than promote the site to commercial housebuilders, as a brownfield site, the Council sat on the site and only in January 2023 have they approached the Liverpool City Region for a share of the Brownfield Land Fund. The Council have passed the site to their arms-length housing company Sandway Homes Ltd and if their bid is successful they plan to build 63 houses, using brownfield grant of £950,000 although when this will happen is not yet known.
Why has this scheme taken 14 years and has still not been developed, whilst agricultural land has been sold, built over and now inhabited in less than 6 years?
One of the first eight schemes to receive brownfield land support from the City Region was at Buckley Hill, Netherton some 3 years ago. Again, Sefton Council, who owned this brownfield site appointed Sandway Homes to build 63 homes, including some affordable homes using £1.05m for brownfield grant. Work on this development has not yet started and, like Bootle High School the dates are unknown.
We can acknowledge that it is more difficult to build on “second-hand” brownfield sites, due to the costs of digging up old foundations and clearing contaminated soil. However, the Brownfield Land Fund has been provided for that very purpose, to help developers meet the costs of these additional reclamation issues.
Private sector development of brownfield sites in Crosby Village
It is worth noting that when private developers wanted to build affordable housing on derelict brownfield sites in Crosby Village, at Central Buildings and at Telegraph House, this Council’s planning committee initially refused consent. It was only when the applications went to appeal that the Planning Inspector found in favour of the developers and permitted the schemes to proceed.
Development of these two sites in now progressing at pace with 39 apartments in Central Buildings and 72 at Telegraph House.
The private sector has demonstrated that in Crosby Village they can provide over 100 homes on redundant and derelict sites, whereas the Council and its Sandway Homes company struggle to get off the ground.
Sefton Council Brownfield Land Register, Local Plan and Asset Register
The Council is required by Government to produce a Brownfield Land Register. The purpose of the register is to identify suitable brownfield sites that are available for housing development or housing led mixed use development. It will also help to provide publicly available information on suitable brownfield sites. Brownfield land is previously developed land, normally in the urban area, although occasionally previously developed land can be found in the countryside.
The Council updated its Brownfield Land Register in 2022.. However, it does not accurately reflect the number of vacant brownfield sites across the borough which could be made available for housing development. Many of these included former school sites and redundant works depots within council and other public sector ownership. There is a lack of coordination between the brownfield sites register, the Council’s own Asset Register and the Local Plan which makes it difficult trying to make strategic decisions on disposal of redundant sites and promotion of new housebuilding. The simple questions are:
• what does the Council own,
• what does it need and
• what can be sold for other uses - especially housing.
For example, the former Ainsdale Hope Secondary School which closed in 2007, is shown in the Local Plan as a site for some 120 houses, but it does not appear on the Council’s Brownfield Sites Register. (Currently, this under-used site is used for administrative functions by a Council department).
The multi-storey flats, Vine House, alongside Seaforth and Litherland Station have remained vacant since 2003. This block containing 58 flats is now being marketed by agents acting for Sefton Council but does not appear on the brownfield register.
By contrast, the former Rawson Road Primary School site in Bootle is shown on the brownfield register but no redevelopment has taken place since the school closed, some 18 years ago..
Sefton’s Labour Council has been slow to promote building on brownfield sites, even though grant is available. Instead it has taken the “quick-fix” solution to housing provision by allowing prime agricultural land to be wiped out, when it is needed to provide food for the nation.
There is considerable potential locked up in brownfield sites across Sefton which would reduce the need for building on greenbelt. A scheme in Hawthorne Road, Bootle, being developed by 2 housing associations , would provide 158 homes but was delayed due to the change in contractor. This scheme is now in receipt of £2.35m from the brownfield land fund.
A scheme in Benthams Way, Southport, will provide 150 houses but Sefton Council and Sandway Homes only applied in January 2023 for the first phase of grant support of £690,000 out of a total available of £2.25m, even though the grant was approved in principle by the Liverpool City Region in November 2021. No reason is given for this delay by Sefton Council of almost 2 years in progressing this scheme.
Develop brownfield sites before agricultural land
This Council’s short-term solution to local housing needs, allowing building over agricultural land, must stop. It is of concern that there are many other greenfield sites in the Local Plan which have not yet been sold and which could see further green space disappear without challenge. Quite simply, Sefton needs to accurately assess the quantity and potential of brownfield sites within the borough. These sites must be developed, if necessary using the Government’s grants, before further destruction of our irreplaceable agricultural land.
