CONTROVERSIAL attempts to build hundreds of homes at a wildlife haven have been defended by a planning chief.

Proposals to create up to 1,100 homes at the massive Peel Hall site, off Radley Lane, Hougton Green, home to the greater crested newt and the small-eared owl, have outraged nature lovers.

But Clr Mike Hughes, chairman of the council's strategic planning committee, thinks such developments are necessary to meet the borough's housing needs.

Government inspectors released open spaces such as Peel Hall and land near Well Lane, Penketh, for potential development, in Warrington's Local Plan.

Clr Hughes told the GUARDIAN: "There is an information gap. But I am finding when people understand the overall situation, they are not happy but they understand the rationale behind what is going on."

A great deal of interest had been sparked by the proposals, accepted Clr Hughes. But the council had to plan "realistically and responsibly" for future developments.

Large-scale projects like Peel Hall would be subject to planning briefs, explained Clr Hughes, where planners could work in partnership with developers and neighbours.

An approach along similar lines had been successfully taken when dealing with the urban village blueprints for the BRD site at the former Burtonwood airbase, he believed.

The number of houses on sites like Peel Hall would be determined by issues such as the effect on wildlife, added Clr Hughes.

Meanwhile campaigners from Orford, Houghton Green and Winwick are continuing their battle against the plans as they stage a public meeting today, Friday, at 7pm at the Hawthorn Centre in Padgate.

Warrington North MP Helen Jones and Poplars councillor Darren Pilling are expected to reaffirm their commitment to making planning inspectors think again.

"It would be a great shame to see the land be developed," said Clr Pilling, who believes town centre housing initiatives are more ecologically sustainable.

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