There were calls for order in the public gallery as hundreds of homes were narrowly approved by planning chiefs after a deadlocked vote had to be broken by the chair of the committee.

At last night’s (Monday) meeting of Halton Council’s planning committee, numerous concerns were raised about plans by Harworth Group for 500 homes, primary school, elderly accommodation and local centre in Hale Bank.

One council chief raised fears over the impact of more residents and commuters on Ditton Railway Bridge, and said he could ‘not in good conscience’ approve the scheme unless a safety inspection was carried out first.

The massive new estate is set to located on land off Hale Gate Road in Halebank and cover 56 acres of greenfield land.

The proposals had brought fierce opposition from Halebank Parish Council.
At the meeting at Runcorn Town Hall - where it was standing room only in the public gallery - parish council deputy chair John Anderton read from a council document dated 2019 which he said called the area a ‘pinch point’ and which recommended construction of a new bridge.

He also warned planning chiefs the parish council would pursue legal action if the scheme was approved, a course of action which would result in 'no winners'.

He told members: "Halebank Parish Council has been successful in all three judicial reviews it has undertaken against Halton Borough Council, so any further such legal challenges should be taken seriously. The strength of feeling of opposition within the community is enormous."

Tempers occasionally frayed during the resulting discussions, with the borough solicitor and chair of the committee having to call for order from the public gallery.

Speaking in support of the application, Rhian Smith of planning consultancy Avison Young, said: "The officer's report demonstrates that there are no consultee  objections to proposed developments regarding key technical matters such as ecology, landscape, biodiversity net gain, greenbelt compensation, noise, air quality.

"The scheme has kept being carefully designed in conjunction with the council's highway engineers to ensure that safe and suitable access will be created."

But a number of committee members raised concerns citing issues such as lack of local NHS provision for more residents, road congestion and the impact on nearby Ditton Railway Bridge.

Cllr Chris Carlin said it would be ‘ridiculous’ to expect a housing developer to pay for a new bridge but said the application should be deferred pending an inspection of the bridge, saying he could not otherwise vote for it ‘in good conscience’.

He said: "I haven't heard any officer tell me categorically the the bridge is safe. Now, I'm not going to be prepared to vote through this application unless someone can tell me this bridge is safe.”

Officers told members it was a Network Rail bridge and they had raised no objection with regards to health and safety.

When the vote was called, four committee members voted in favour and four against – resulting in deadlock. Protocol then required the sitting chair of the committee to cast a deciding vote, and she voted in favour of the application.