Dear The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP,
RE: Wirral Borough Council-Recovery of Leverhulme appeals
We are writing to you as co-leaders of the Green Party councillors on Wirral Council to request that you urgently recover the seven Leverhulme appeals which are currently the subject of an ongoing public inquiry.
We view the applications and appeals which are on land within the green belt to be a clear attempt to circumvent the Plan-led system and to undermine Wirral Council’s visionary Local Plan which seeks to regenerate the eastern part of the borough and Birkenhead in particular through a brownfield-first strategy.
The threat of Government intervention in 2019 galvanised all political parties in Wirral to work closely with your department to prepare an exemplar Plan. This is innovative in the way it promotes sustainable development through the regeneration of parts of the borough which are amongst the most deprived in the country. It is in complete compliance with government planning guidance and your Levelling Up agenda.
The preparation of the Local Plan over the last four years has been a catalyst for the council to develop one of the largest, and most comprehensive regeneration opportunities in the country. Working with your department, the LCR Combined Authority and Homes England we have used the emerging Local Plan brownfield first strategy built around the Birkenhead 2040 Regeneration Framework and ‘Leftbank’ strategy to provide the context for securing funds through the Town Deal, Future High Streets and Levelling Up programmes. These have allowed us to commence essential place making and infrastructure works as well as to begin to address viability issues around a significant number of brownfield housing projects.
It is essential to understand that the Local Plan has been designed to meet all of Wirral’s development needs within existing urban areas by providing the spatial and planning context for transformational regeneration of the Leftbank. It provides the basis for truly sustainable development at higher densities creating healthy, safe neighbourhoods. It sets out proposals which will address the climate emergency through the promotion of higher density, low carbon living enabled by the provision of mass transit and district heat networks as well as demanding high-quality places.
The unwarranted and unjustified release of land through the ongoing Leverhulme appeals would suck investment out of brownfield regeneration into the destruction of irreplaceable green belt land. It would significantly impact on the Local Plan proposals to address decades of deprivation, create thousands of new homes in the right location, new jobs, parks and public spaces, and promote low carbon communities.
The Local Plan was approved unanimously by all council members in March 2022 and is supported by our local communities. The plan is now at an advanced stage of preparation and is, as you will be aware, currently undergoing public examination. At this late stage it would be premature to allow any major application for green belt release outside of the Local Plan process. This would, in our view, make a mockery of the ‘Plan-led system’.
We would urge you to approve the recovery of the seven Leverhulme appeals so that your department can consider the findings of the Inspector after the conclusion of the Local Plan Examination in public. This will ensure that the Local Plan is fully considered on its merits and its soundness.
Wirral has a nationally significant opportunity to achieve exemplar brownfield first regeneration that will create strong, resilient communities. It can significantly address the many social and environmental issues that we face. However, our ability to achieve that and lead by example could be fatally undermined by any release of green belt land. We hope you will act to prevent this.
Yours sincerely
Councillor Jo Bird Councillor Pat Cleary
Co leaders of the Green Group, Wirral Council