David Casement represented the Society at the recent History and Heritage Fair at Town Hall. WWIRRALWIRIRRARLA LM MATTERSMATATETRESRS NNewsNeewwss anda anndd ViewsV Vieiewwss fromf frorroomm TheTThhee WirralWWiirrrral SSocietySoocciieetyty - fffoundedoouunnddeedd 11928199228 8 The Wirral Society invite you to lend us your support, at TThehhee WWirralirral Ccommitteeoommmmiitttteeee ofo off thet thehhee CamCampaign Camppaaigignn tot too ProtectPr Prootteecctt Rural Rural EEngland Ennggllandand - ( CPRECPRE) £10pa, £15 for groups, to add to our lobbying strength. Find details on www.wirralsociety.net or contact our membership PresidentPrPPrreessiiddeentnt :- PProfessorPrrooffeessssoorr JJohnJoohhnn TTarnTarn OOBEBBEE DDLDLL FFRIBAFRRIIBBAA FFRSARRSSA FFRHistSRRHHisisttSS FFSAFSSA A secretary. wwww.wirralsociety.netww.wirrraallssoocciety..nneett FACEBOOKFACEBOOKOOK -– ThTheThe e WirralWWiirrrraall SocietySSooccietyiety A number of illustrated talks on environmental matters relating IINSTAGRAMINSNSTAGGRRAAMM -- @the_wirral_society@@tthhe_wiree_wir_wirrraal_sl_soocciietyety T TWITTERTWIWITTTTETTEERR - -@ @@wirralsocietywwirirrraalslsooccieietyty to the Peninsula can be provided on request. ! " ProposedProposedS ‘Golf’‘UGMolfM’ ResortREeRs o2r0t 1atat9 HoylakeHoylake Developers plough ahead, without planning permission, on historic site A secondsecond CouncilCouncil mmeetingeeting wwasas ccalledalled rrerecently,ecently, iinn aann aattemptttempt ttoo hhaveave tthehe pprojectroject aabandoned.bandoned. TThehe What happens when a developer is apparently unaware of the rules and starts work on a sensitive site without meetingmeeting wwasas aattendedttended bbyy a llargeaPrgreo nnumberpuombmsbeedr ‘oofGf oWWirrallfir’ra Rl erresidents,essoidrte nats H, aanxiousonyxxiliaokuse ttoo sshowhow ttheirheir oobjectionbjection ttoo tthehe seeking permission or proper advice? The results can be seen at the Riverview Road development on the wooded wayway inin wwhichhich tthehe CCouncilouncil ccontinuesontinues ttoo stssteamrollerteamroller tthishis pprojectroject fforward,orrwward, wwithith nnoo eevidencevidence ooff ppopularopular fringe of the Mersey at Bromborough. OS ref: SJ3608 8272 and SJ 3608 8270. Some three years ago nearly A secosupportsnudp pCoorut noorcr iffinancialli nmaenectiianlg vviability. wiaabsil itcya. lWWhilstledh irlsetc ttheehnet lMMotiony, ointi oann ttoaot tddiscontinueeimscoptn ttoin huaev wwase aths evvery eprryo jnnarrowlyeacrt roabwalyn dddefeated,oenfeeadt.e dT,h ae meeting was scrutinyscrutiny committeecommmimittee hhasas bbeeneen ppromisedromised ttoo llookook aatt aallll aaspectsspects ooff tthehe sscheme’scheme’s vviability,iability, bbeforeefore iitt iiss 100 mature trees were felled, controversially. The developers were made aware that planning permission was attended by a large number of Wirral residents, anxious to show their objection to the way in which the Council required before work could begin. submittedsubmitted ttoo Cabinet.Cabinet. AAss wewe hhaveave rreservationseseservations aaboutbout tthehe ppoliticaloliticcaal iindependencendependence ooff tthehe CCouncil’souncil’s continuScrutinySecrus ttoin syt eCommitteesCaommmimrmiollettre tehsis iin np rggeneral,oejencetr afol,r wweaer aaredrer, ew nnotitoht nooptimisticop teimvidisetincc tthateh aotf ttheirphoepiru ddeliberationslaerl isbuepraptoiortn osr wwill fiinlla cchangenhcaianlg veia aanything.bnilyittyh.i nWgh. ilst the By autumn 2018 the site had been fenced with garish red railings and a considerable amount of tipping had MotionWe to dhhopeiospcoen tthatthinaut ethisth wisa willws ivlle aatrty lleastnearsrto ddelaywelyla dye tthefheea tCCouncileodu, nac silc lleaderreuatidneyr c ssubmittingoumbmitteineg h aa s‘‘FundingF buenednin pgr oaandmndis PPhasing’edh atosi nlogo’ kpplan alatn a ll aspects occurred, to level the site which sloped sharply down towards the river. Still no planning permission had been of thetthrough hsrcohuegmh eCCabinet.’sa bviniaebt.il i tAAsys, bwweeef ouunderstandrned eitr stisa nsdu biit,tm, ssuchitutecdh aanton aagreementCgarbeienmete. n t Accouldso uwlde ccommit homavmie tr ttheehsee rCCouncilvoautinocnisl ttooa biincurringnocucuutr rithneg political sought nor granted. independence of the Council’s Scrufinancialftiinnayn Ccoiaml ppenaltiesmeinttaeletise sin iif fg iitet nddecidedercaidl,e wde llater aatreer noonont ttoop ppulltiumll isoouttuict oofthf attheht eth ddeal.eeira dl.e TThislibheisr ations will This is the particularly sensitive site of the ancient ‘lost’ Wirral hamlet of Shodwell/Slack Wood, which still has its change anything. We hope that this wwouldwillo autl dle ahhavesatv dee ttoloa ybbe eth ppaidea Cido uffromrnocmil lccouncileoaudnecciri ls ttax.uabx.m i t t i nPhotosPgh ao t‘oFsu n- dNickNiincgk aLauroLnadu Ph asing’ plan well and is listed on the Historic Environment Record. Here too is a former cliff top public footpath between through Cabinet. As we understand it, such an agreement could commit the Council to incurring financial Eastham and Bromborough which the Council’s footpath’s officer is considering for reinstatement. penalties if it decided later on to pull out of the deal. This would have to be Local councillors brought the situation to the attention of the Enforcement officers who paid a visit and work was paid from council tax. stopped. An application was then submitted and rejected as inadequate. Photos - Nick Lauro Retrospective permission is now being sought, but much damage has been done. An archaeological survey is required and both the Shodwell site and the footpath need protection. We simply cannot allow for any more of Wirral’s historical sites to be destroyed by unthinking and uncaring developers. By David Allan

SUMMER OUTING - Thursday 18 July 2.15pm - BIDSTON OBSERVATORY led by Ed Clive, ‘A Tour and Tea’. Access via Wilding Way CH43 7RA TheThe SocietySociciety hashas wwrittenritten ttoo tthehe CChiefhief EExecutivexecutive ooff tthehe RRedrowedrorow company,company, whichwhich iiss nnowow wwantinganting ttoo bbuilduild tthehe hhousesouses aass ppartart ooff tthehe project.project. We hhaveave askedasked wwhetherhether ttheyhey hhaveave ccarriedarried ooutut aanyny ddueue diligencediligenccee oonn tthehe CCompanyompany lleadingeading oonn tthehe sschemecheme aandnd aalsolso iiff ttheyhey areaTrhee awarea wSaorceie ooftyf tthehhaes ttopography owproitgteranp thoy t hoofef tthehCeh illandeafn dE xttheyheecyu taareivre iinterestedonft ethrees Rteedd iinrno w company, buildingbuilding oon.n. To ddate,ate, nnoo rreplyeply hhasas bbeeneen rreceived.eceived. which is now wanting to build the houses as part of the project. We have asked whether they have carried out any due diligence on the Company WirralWirral Council’sCouncil’s LocalLocal PlanPlanle ading on the scheme and also if they are aware of the topography of the TThehe mmainain ddevelopmentevevelopment iinn NNorthorthl aWWirralndir rathle hhasya asr ebbeen einetner ae sffurthertuerdth ienr b llettereutiltdeirn ttogo o WWirraln.i r raTol dCCouncilaoteu,n ncoil ffromrreopmly tthehhaes HHousing boeuesni nregc eived. MMinister,inister, ssayingaying tthathat ssinceince 22004,004, tthehe CCouncilouncil hhasas ffailedailed ttoo mmeeteet 6 llocalocal pplanlan ‘‘milestones’milestones’ iinn a nnumberumber ooff llocalocacal ddevelopmentevelopment sschemeschemes aand....nd.... ‘‘’has’has ffailedailed ttoo pplanlan fforor aandnd ddelivereliver tthehe hhomesomes ttheirheir Wirraaareal rCeao unneeds,neecdils’s, bby Lyo pproducingcroadl uPclianng aann uup-to-datep-to-date llocalocal pplan’’.lan’’. The mAAlthoughalitnh oduegvhe lttheohpem MiMMinistereintis itne rN aacknowledgesocrknth oWwilrerdagl ehsa sttheh bee BBorougheonr oau fguhrt hddoesn’teore slent’tte hhaver atvoe W hhighigrrha lhhousing Couosuincgi lppressures, frreosmsu trhees ,H hheoeu sstilltiinllg Minister, sayingconsidersc tohnasti dsienrcse iit t2 wwould0o0u4l,d t hbbeee Caappropriateopupnrocpil rhiaatse fttoaoi liinterveneendte trove mneee aast 6s tthelohcea CCouncil’sl poluannc ‘iml’si lepperformancesetrofonremas’ innc ae niinnu mrrespectebsepre ocft loofofc ttheahle d ootheretvheelor pment schemcriteriacerist earniad .iiss.. .““lamentable”. l‘a’hmemase nfatailbelde ”.to plan for and deliver the homes their area needs, by producing an up-to-date local plan’’. ProducingProducing a rerrealisticealistic aassessmentssessment ooff tthehe nnumberumber ooff hhomesomes WWirralirral aactuallyctually nneedseeds iiss tthehe pproperroper Althou"starting"gstha trhtein gM point".pinoisintet"r. a cInsteadInknstoewalde dofogf eexpendingesx ptheen Bdionrgo ueeffortgho rdt ottooe smmaximisena’t xhimavisee h nnon-Green-Beltigohn h-Gourereseinng- Beprelts llandsaunrde saavailability,v haeil asbtiillli tcyo ffornosri diitstes r55-s -it would Editor, production, Instagram - Judith Railton, 22 Bracken Lane, CH63 2LZ Yearar ProvisionProvision aandnd fforor tthehe ffollowingollowing 1100 Years,ars, wwee aagreegree wwithith oourur ccolleaguesolleagues aatt IITPAS,T tthathat tthehe Hon, Secretary - David Casement, 5 Cornwall Drive, Prenton, CH43 0RW, 0151-608-3039 be appropriate to intervene as the Council’s performance in respect of the other criteria is “lamentable”. ProducCCouncilinogu nac irl eaappearsaplpisetiacr sa sttoos ebbeses meengagednegnat goef dt hiinne mminimisingnuinmimmibiwesri nogf ssuchhuochme availability,asv Wailiarrbailli tay,c twwhichuhailclyh niisse elleadingedasd ins gt httooe iincreasedpnrcorepearses e"sdt a((andartnindg point". Membership - Avril Wilmshurst, 6 Robins Croft, Great Sutton, CH66 2LQ. [email protected] uunnecessarilynnecessarily hhigh)igh) ppressureressure fforor rreleaseeleassee ooff GGreenreen BBeltelt lland.and. Website, Facebook and Twitter - Nick Lauro. Printer - D. B. Print Instead of expending effort to maximise non-Green-Belt land availability for its 5-Year Provision and for the Copies are available in all peninsula libraries, sent to all peninsula councillors and MPs. following 10 Years, we agree with our colleagues at ITPAS, that the Council appears to be engaged in minimising Copies go to the Archives of Wirral, Chester, The British Library and Scottish Deposits. such availability, which is leading to increased (and unnecessarily high) pressure for release of Green Belt land.

WIRRAL MATTERS 4 WIRRAL MATTERS 1 Photo- Google maps – Some of the Green Belt land at risk at Awards and Honours Saughall Massie . (The new fire station has now been built on the field at the bottom right) We are delighted that the work of two members of the Wirral Society’s Committee However, we take some consolation from recent newspaper has been formally recognised in recent headlines which record the Council’s determination to use months. Brownfield land first, including a large derelict and underused site Joy Hockey MBE, in the Queen’s New Year near the Mersey Tunnel entrance, for housing. We are also hopeful Honours’ list, for services to Wallasey. the Wirral Growth Company will make the building of affordable Elizabeth Davey received a Wirral Award for homes on Brownfield land, its main priority. her work in History and Heritage.

Also, it would now seem the Council is showing more enthusiasm New Fire Station at Saughall Massie – Since our last report, we note that, after over one year in construction, by providing support for Peel Land & Property, in respect of various it is still not finished and, by the time it opens on this Green Belt site, it will be over 5 years since West Kirby Fire major initiatives, mainly comprising housing schemes, which are Station was closed operationally. At great expense to the taxpayer, the sign tells us it’s ’Saughall Massie currently at an advanced planning stage, at Wirral Waters. Community Fire Station’, yet we understood it was supposed to be serving north-west Wirral?

Wirral Waters - currently projected and completed projects clustering Wirral Green Spaces Alliance - current members in the Four Bridges, Northbank and MEA Park neighbourhood areas. Banding together to fight the Green Belt threats - Picture courtesy of Peel Land & Property The Wirral Society...CPRE (Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, Lancs) Barnston Conservation Society...Caldy Society... CAW (Conservation Areas Wirral) Defend Wirral Green & Open Spaces (DWGOS)... Eastham Village Preservation Assoc. Civic Award Frankby Conservation Assoc.... Greasby Community Assoc....Heswall Society At our recent Annual General Meeting, Vice Chairman, Terry Edgar, explained the details of our annual award Irby, Thurstaston & Pensby Amenity Society (ITPAS)... Mountwood & Assoc. and that this year it has been presented for modification of an otherwise neglected site - now magnificent and Saughall Massie Village Conservation Area Soc. certainly worth a visit. The award has been made to The Williamson and Priory Friends for developing “The Stop Hoylake Golf Resort Action Group (SHGRAG) Green Gallery” at the Williamson Art Gallery, Slatey Road, Birkenhead. The Chairman of the Friends, Mary Residents Assoc.... Thornton Hough Community Trust ...Wirral Barn Owl Trust Rickett, was present to receive the award and cheque from President John Tarn. Mary spoke to the Meeting Wirral Footpaths and Open Spaces Preservation Society...Wirral Ramblers explaining how the work had developed and thanked the Society for the award. Graham Stevens (Statistician)...Prof. David Gregg (Statistician and Modeller)

Sandstone on Wirral A fascinating talk by Rod Tann - the geology, the history, quarrying and building - of this ever present Wirral rock. Think red in the west - eg.St. Bridget’s church in West Kirby; yellow, grey and white in the east. Look out for farms in Storeton and the harder, white, Keuper sandstone quarried for the Empire State Building, Birkenhead Town Hall and many municipal buildings. You will find a myriad of different building styles, from carefully designed to rough and ready. Exactly how many miles of sandstone walls there are on Wirral. Does anyone know?. Photos by JR - wall on Grange Road, West Kirby, the Arno Quarry face in Oxton, housing in Prenton New Life for Burton Manor and its Gardens We are pleased that an acceptable scheme for this Listed building has been approved by the Council, with strong support from residents; the survival of the house, most of the businesses and the significant parts of the Mawson gardens are now hopefully assured.

Good news of 200 Houses for former Burton’s Biscuit factory site, Moreton - further evidence that housing need can be provided in the Borough, without resorting to building in the Green Belt.

Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission As part of a nationwide appeal, the Society has made a small donation towards the establishment of this Commission. The Committee were agreed this proposal represented a very positive step towards tackling the challenge of poor quality design and build of homes and places, across the country, including the . The Commission plans to gather evidence from both the public and private sector to develop practical policy solutions to ensure the design and style of new developments, including new settlements and the country’s high streets, help to grow a sense of community and place, not undermine it.

WIRRAL MATTERS 2 WIRRAL MATTERS 3