COUNCIL chiefs say there is currently no ‘sufficient certainty’ over the Fiddlers Ferry power station site being proposed for development in the local plan.

It comes as officers confirmed it could take up to eight years to clean-up and remediate the land, off Widnes Road.

The power station will close next year and residents hope it could be include in the emerging local plan, partly to protect green belt land elsewhere in the town.

Warrington Borough Council (WBC) has been discussing the future of the site with the owner, Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE).

Fiddlers Ferry was also highlighted at last week’s public inquiry appeal over the proposed Eddie Stobart warehouse in south Warrington.

The inquiry heard the power station offers a ‘major’ brownfield development opportunity but has a ‘long way to go’ before it can become part of the town’s employment land supply.

A planning consultant also said the site does have ‘relevance’ in relation to the emerging 20-year local plan.

In response, WBC says Fiddlers Ferry ‘does have relevance to – and is included in – the local plan’.

“However, there is not, currently, sufficient certainty over the site for it to be included within the council’s developable employment land supply,” said a spokesman.

“As stated in the local plan, this will be kept under review.

“We are consulting with SSE, the owners of Fiddler’s Ferry power station, to discuss the details and the timelines of their closure arrangements.

“We need to be clear on the details of its decommissioning.

“At this stage, it is too early to discuss the future use of the site, particularly as it will potentially require a major clean-up and remediation.

“This could take up to eight years, given experience elsewhere.”

Furthermore, the Campaign to Protect Rural England’s annual State of Brownfield report states there is ‘enough suitable brownfield land’ available in England for more than one million homes across over 18,000 sites and 26,000 hectares.

The report is based on analysis of council’s brownfield registers.

WBC updates its brownfield register annually.

The authority’s latest document, which has a base date of March 31 2018, was published earlier this year.

The spokesman added: “All of the brownfield sites identified in the brownfield register have been accounted for in preparing the local plan.

“These sites form part of the total urban capacity of 13,726 identified in the local plan.

“In accordance with the national planning policy framework, the council has to demonstrate that it has examined fully all other reasonable options for meeting Warrington’s development needs before concluding that exceptional circumstances exist to justify green belt release.

“The steps we have taken to demonstrate this, including our use of the brownfield register, are set out in the local plan.”