Warrington Borough Council Planning Policy and Programmes New Town House Butermarket Street Warrington Cheshire WA1 2NH (nline: www$warrington$gov$uk/local*lanre%iew 2+th Se*tem,er 2-17 /ear Sir, Warrington Borough Council Local Plan. Preferred Development Opton Regulaton 18 Consultaton 1 wish to ob2ect to the Pre"erred De%elopment O*3on (P/(5 and ha%e set out my response in two ,road categories (as underlined5! Immediate personal im*act of the de%elopment& Issues rela3ng to the quality of the consulta3on and re*orts. Please may you distri,ute this leter to all Warrington Borough Council (hence"orth WBC) /e%elopment Control Commitee mem,ers? Please may you provide a formal response to all comments and ques3ons raised? mmediate personal impact of the development My home backs on to the Trans Pennine Trail$ My family and I moved in Novem,er and the *rimary reason for purchasing the property was the quiet0 idyllic loca3on and associated outlook. The stress this P/( has caused my wi"e and I is matched only by that e9*erienced by our neigh,ours and the mass of others a:ected in our community$ My long working days ha%e been proceeded by nights on the com*uter reading countless P/( related re*orts; leading to e9haus3on0 an9iety and eye strain$ This all pails into insigni;cance com*ared to the im*act of the plans i" they were allowed to proceed. <i%en my address on 1 ha%e the following concerns rela3ng to the proposed strategic transport route on the line of the Trans Pennine Trail: !oise – A primary mot%a3ng factor for moving from my pre%ious home was the noise$ I pre%iously li%ed on 0 Thelwall0 a cul?de?sac0 with a single elderly neigh,our ad2oined$ The low le%el noise through the party wall and from road tra@c was su@cient for my wi"e and I to decide to move house$ We moved to the quietest house we could a:ord0 in the area we love& and what a fnd it was, ,ehind the Trans Pennine Trail$ The only noise I hear is the cacophony of birdsong$ Howe%er0 WBC wishes to build a strategic road behind my home$ This would be posi3%ely un,eara,le. 1 o" 16 Vibraton – The %i,ra3on from the proposed road would be irrita3ng during the day3me$ During the night0 it would a:ect my slee*$ Further0 though I e9*ect the structural damage resul3ng from %i,ra3on from the proposed road would be unlikely0 su*er;cial cracking and craCing would be *ossi,le$ This a:ect would ha%e two causes: the ini3al construc3on of the route& the su,se6uent use of the route$ To my knowledge0 there is no mechanism for com*ensa3ng for aesthe3c damage incurred aDer a road has come in to use& I would there"ore bear increased maintenance costs. Light – Where there are roads, there are %ehicles and streetlights. The only lights I see at night are the stars in the sky and the occasional passing of a cyclistEs lights against the trees across the Trans Pennine Trail0 which has a magical quality (think E$T$5$ Both sta3c and roving lights would be irrita3ng in di:erent ways. They would a:ect my quality of slee* and would im*act whate%er limited wildli"e is retained aDer its ini3al decima3on. Loss of vie% – I currently look out over a wall of greenery$ There is an e9cellent mi9 of species of tree on the Trans Pennine Trail0 which changes in its beauty throughout the seasons. This brings an enormous sense of well,eing$ According to Dr Alan Kellas, a psychiatrist who ad%ises the Royal College of Psychiatry0 nature can ha%e a profound e:ect on our mental health (see “Isa,el Hardman on nature and de*ressionH0 BBC Radio 40 1Ith Se*tem,er0 0I!J-5$ All I ha%e to do to treat a di* in mood or relie%e stress aDer a day at work, is look out of the window or sit in the garden$ Regardless, of how sym*athe3c the design0 this e:ect would be lost and what would be leD other than a sorrow"ul reminder of what once was? Loss of privacy – All of my li%ing rooms and my master bedroom look out onto the Trans Pennine Trail$ There"ore0 whether the Trans Pennine Trail is a road or railway0 my home would be overlooked. 1t would be greatly u*setng to ha%e passers-,y peering into my home and garden$ The foot*ath le%el0 em,ankment crown and shroud of trees currently gi%es me com*lete pri%acy. Loss of biodiversity – 1E%e seen a greater array of wildli"e in my garden in my years at this property than IE%e seen throughout my en3re li"e pre%iously$ IE%e seen voles, more colour"ul small birds than I thought e9isted0 and e%en a S*arrowhawk. Other birds of prey can be seen fying a,ove from tme to 3me$ On the Trans Pennine Trail0 IE%e seen badgers, newts and fo9es. IE%e also heard the occasional wood*ecker and owls can be heard almost nightly$ Bats fy over e%ery e%ening and clearly roost on the Trans Pennine Trail$ The trees themsel%es are di%erse and mature and a healthy balance of na3%e woodland fora can be seen$ What is more remarka,le a,out the Trans Pennine Trail than most open countryside is the way in which it creates a wildli"e corridor across the country0 rela3%ely un,roken$ I su**ose all this would be fatened. 'ir polluton > This is a par3cularly concerning aspect of the P/($ I e9*and on this below& howe%er, here I must note the speci;c im*act this would ha%e on my quality of li"e$ My asthma de%eloped when I began commu3ng through Warrington town centre on my bicycle (something I no longer do). 1 belie%e it to be pollu3on related$ Li%ing ne9t to a strategic road could only worsen the e:ects. Burther0 li%ing ad2acent to a busy road has been shown to increase the risk of de%eloping more serious illnesses, such as demen3a (www$nhs.uk0 “People who li%e near busy roads ha%e higher demen3a rates”0 5th January 2-1.5 and cardiovascular disease$ As a result0 pro9imity to main roads reduces li"e e9*ectancy$ Does WBC ha%e it in mind to com*ensate neigh,ours of the proposed route so that we may increase our pri%ate medical coverage0 ha%e a con3ngency to cover non?insurance ,ased e9*enses, and ha%e the fnancial means of?set the pollu3on related bre%ity of li"e with a greater intensity of e9*erience? 2 o" 16 Loss of house value – The pro9imity to a strategic road will reduce my house value$ On the assum*3on that my home will not be su,2ect to a Com*ulsory Purchase Order0 how does WBC intend to com*ensate me for the blight im*osed by the P/(? Loss of saleability > Not only would the presence of a road reduce the cur, a**eal and value of my home0 it would also ha%e a limi3ng e:ect on the target market0 which means my home would take longer to sell$ My estate agents ha%e let it be known that sales ha%e already fallen through for *roper3es ad2acent to the Trans Pennine Trail0 due to the P/($ The salea,ility of my home is already diminished and will remain su*ressed un3l WBC declares the route withdrawn and the Trans Pennine Trail protected fore%er more$ I call on WBC to make a declara3on that the Trans Pennine Trail will be *rotected as a cycleway0 bridleway and foot*ath only. (se of Trans Pennine Trail > The TPT is the foremost community asset in Warrington$ I regularly use the trail for walking and cycling$ In fact0 this is the only sa"e0 of?road loca3on in the area for cycling with children$ I ha%e taught my f%e year old son to cycle on the TPT and my three year old son joins me on the child seat on my bike$ This is the only loca3on I belie%e is su@ciently sa"e for them to cycle and without near,y access, they sim*ly would not partake in cycling$ Losing the TPT would be detrimental to the health and well?,eing of young and old0 and would also be detrimental to e:orts to im*rove ac3%e tra%el$ The TPT is a great walking route and connects well to other good routes such as the Bridgewater Canal. )he Grappenhall and Thelwall Ro&al Britsh Legion is a well?su**orted and well?atended social clu,. The Trans Pennine Trail provides sa"e foot access to the clu,0 whereas the alterna3%e access across Stockport Road is posi3%ely dangerous, with poor site lines and fast fowing tra@c$ It is unclear whether the G&T=BM Clu, would be su,2ect to CP(0 which would be a great shame0 gi%en that it is central to the community cohesion and spirit of the parish$ It is par3cularly posi3%e for elderly mem,ers of the community0 some of whom would otherwise be isolated from society$ Regardless of CP(0 the childrenEs play area and outdoor sea3ng would be ruined by a strategic road on the TPT.