Homes to be built near river collapse site (From Warrington Guardian)
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Homes to be built near river collapse site
9:20am Thursday 10th January 2013 in News
Homes to be built near river collapse site
TEN new homes will be built in Woolston - just metres from where banks of the River Mersey suddenly collapsed.
Warrington Borough Council approved the houses during a meeting of the development management committee on Thursday.
David Wilson Homes will now build the properties on land adjacent to Riversdale with work due to start immediately.
Angry residents hit out at the decision at the stormy meeting, with some standing to challenge evidence given by DWH officials.
After the application was approved, many left with one moving forward to remonstrate with councillors on the committee.
Following the meeting homeowners contacted the Warrington Guardian to complain.
David Foster, of Battery Lane, said: “They have not taken into consideration that the land is sinking.
“Their engineers talked about natural erosion but haven’t mentioned when the river was drained and the banks collapsed.”
In September riverbanks across a long stretch of the River Mersey caved in.
Peel Ports has admitted lowering water levels that day to carry out repairs at Latchford Lock.
Other residents fear more homes will mean traffic problems on Manchester Road - marked as a red route for accidents - increase, putting pedestrians at risk.
John McMillan, of Riversdale, said: “People’s feelings here have never been considered.
“The whole thing has been for the appeasement of David Wilson Homes.
“You have to live here to understand how horrendously difficult it is to get out of Riversdale in the morning.
“Somebody will be killed - it might be an adult, it might be a child.”
When traffic concerns were raised to the committee, a Warrington Borough Council planning officer replied that he was a ‘confident driver’ and could emerge onto Manchester Road without difficulty.
Jane O’Neil keeps six horses including two foals on a field off Battery Lane, next to the development site.
During the meeting officials from DWH had claimed that horses were not kept in the field.
She says she was then given 24 hours by DWH, who own the land, to move the animals as her contract had finished.
However, bosses have now backtracked and given her two weeks.
Mrs O’Neil said: “I’ve had horses here for more than 20 years.
“I have no idea where we will go.
“They are very popular and the children come to feed them.
“We are absolutely devastated.”
Comments(16)
old-codger
says...
2:17pm Thu 10 Jan 13
Martnscroft is not Wooston,
Riverside homes sell for more money, Thats all any builder considers, Horses and Children wont matter to David Wilson, As to why anybody on this planet wants to pay good money to live
next to the river mersey is well beyond me.
Cleopatra
says...
5:32pm Thu 10 Jan 13
montblanc
says...
8:28pm Thu 10 Jan 13
Kellystad
says...
9:51pm Thu 10 Jan 13
No doubt the developers will be long gone when the houses suffer from flooding!
Reader
says...
10:00pm Thu 10 Jan 13
Cleopatra wrote:They will pile drive the land as far down as they need to to create a stable platform for the houses to sit on. People will still buy them as any homes near rivers/canals or on unstable land are done like this and 'guaranttes' are given and people are gullible and like the views from their water front properties. They may need boats one day to get from their homes to the nearly main roads though and insurance may be hard to get but then again Peels have already suceeded in appealing against the Environment Agencys decision to rate some areas along the Manchester Ship Canal as 'risk areas' so they could do the same there no doubt.
Let them build the houses. Any people who buy them would be fools, considering the river bank has already collapsed once. If people are wise they will leave the houses on the market - unsalable - then the builder will realise a loss and what a fool he/they were to build there.
Reader
says...
10:10pm Thu 10 Jan 13
How the bloody developers can just give her 24 hours (now extended to 2 weeks) to move her horses to a new home is an absolute disgrace !!
PS montblanc... you say you have complained to the very same man that received many similar complaints from around here regarding planning issues and the disgraceful way the planning department and development control board (as it was calledback then) had handled things and the farce from all actual meetings when people wer not allowed to speak or were ignored or rules were changed to benefit one side and not the other when he was last in office and you are probably wasting your time and will get the same token gesture replies.
NickySmithXox
says...
1:25pm Fri 11 Jan 13
SickAndTired2
says...
6:08pm Fri 11 Jan 13
This council is corrupt and rotten at the highest level. Each and every resident of this town should be demanding their resignation.
old-codger
says...
11:01pm Fri 11 Jan 13
6:08pm Fri 11 Jan 13 ..
This council is corrupt and rotten at the highest level. Each and every resident of this town should be demanding their resignation.”
Well said, They are elected to represent the residents of this town and not to s**t on them at every opportunity,
Corrupt and Rotten to the core, Broomhead is as useless as a chocolate fireguard.
montblanc
says...
11:26am Sat 12 Jan 13
This was the first time i have ever attended a meeting at the Town Hall.
This planning meeting certainly opened my eyes to the way Warrington Planning Comm treat their tax paying residents. I was appalled at the way the Planning Comm treated the approx 50-60 residents at this meeting with utter contempt
Maybe you are correct about Mr Broomhead because i made a formal complaint about the conduct of this Comm on 5th Jan and as of this morning, i have had no reply
SAC_in_Warrington
says...
2:56pm Mon 14 Jan 13
Cleopatra wrote:Just think of the compo. that you would get if your house was effected by the river flooding! I most certainly agree with Cleopatra.
Let them build the houses. Any people who buy them would be fools, considering the river bank has already collapsed once. If people are wise they will leave the houses on the market - unsalable - then the builder will realise a loss and what a fool he/they were to build there.
dogwalker2
says...
6:50pm Mon 14 Jan 13
I have yet to meet a dedicated politician who isn't in it for his/her own gain.
grey_man
says...
8:50pm Mon 14 Jan 13
I think it's beyond time that the planning department was investigated properly, including former employees. And I mean by the police.
grey_man
says...
7:43am Tue 15 Jan 13
Reader wrote:From last September.
Cleopatra wrote:They will pile drive the land as far down as they need to to create a stable platform for the houses to sit on. People will still buy them as any homes near rivers/canals or on unstable land are done like this and 'guaranttes' are given and people are gullible and like the views from their water front properties. They may need boats one day to get from their homes to the nearly main roads though and insurance may be hard to get but then again Peels have already suceeded in appealing against the Environment Agencys decision to rate some areas along the Manchester Ship Canal as 'risk areas' so they could do the same there no doubt.
Let them build the houses. Any people who buy them would be fools, considering the river bank has already collapsed once. If people are wise they will leave the houses on the market - unsalable - then the builder will realise a loss and what a fool he/they were to build there.
http://www.telegraph
.co.uk/topics/weathe
r/9567398/Weather-fl
ats-left-close-to-co
llapse-after-floods-
in-Newburn.html
Gorsedd
says...
8:07pm Tue 15 Jan 13
Nick Tessla says...
11:31am Thu 10 Jan 13