Massive Demo at Town Hall against Local Plan

Liberal Democrats are calling on the Council to think again about their plans for development in the town.

On Monday night hundreds of residents turned up to stage a massive demonstration against the Council's proposals before the start of the Council Meeting.

Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on the Council, Cllr Bob Barr said, "The huge turnout of hundreds showed just how angry people from across the town feel about these proposals. They are appalled by the totally inadequate consultation process and the fact that there is no vision coming from the Council. The Preferred Development Option has been written by officers for officers and not in a language that ordinary people will understand.

Building must take place on brownfield sites first so that our green spaces are protected. Congestion is already a massive problem which will be made worse by traffic diverting to escape the tolls on the recently opened Mersey Gateway Bridge. Where development does take place it is absolutely essential that the infrastructure is put in place first, not afterwards. The use of the word 'city' has upset people and I suspect the Planners will drop this term in later consultations.

When I tackled the Council Leader at the Council Meeting he described the Preferred Development Option as a 'red herring'. Goodness knows what he meant by this, but I can tell him that it's a 'red herring' that has upset thousands of people. When the Local Plan is finally published I sincerely hope it looks very different from the Option in front of us now. The Labour Group claims that all views from the consultation will be taken into consideration and we will be watching very carefully to make sure this happens.

It is now up to residents, supported by their local councillors, to put forward a positive vision of how they want our town to develop so that it improves communities and doesn't destroy them."