Land battle begins as sale plan revealed (From Warrington Guardian)

Land battle begins as sale plan revealed

WEAVERHAM Parish Council is aiming to make life as difficult as possible for potential developers following the sale of land it thought belonged to the village.

The council discovered last month that ICI had sold a piece of land off Owley Wood Road, known locally as The Meadow, to developers.

It had been used by the village for recreational purposes but the council discovered it was being sold when it tried to register it in its name on behalf of the village.

The council was disappointed to find out that ICI had not told them about its intention to sell the land.

Clr Eileen Bland said: "ICI has always expected a lot from people in the area. What a shame that it couldn't reciprocate."

But Clr Richard Gorrill said he had made inquiries with Vale Royal Borough Council about the land surrounding The Meadow.

At last month's parish council meeting, Clr Gorrill said he had found out from Jeremy Owens, the borough council's head of environmental policy, that the land around The Meadow was all in the green belt.

He said: "Whoever owns it will have a hell of a job trying to build on it. But to make it more watertight, Jeremy has suggested that the parish council write to him to have it designated as part of Owley Wood, to have it made an area of conservation importance.

"If we can get The Meadow included, it would be one more barrier for a developer to climb over before he could build on it or develop on it."

rbabington@guardiangrp.co.uk