Councillors and an MP are up in arms over plans to build an electricity substation on green space in Runcorn to supply two massive housing developments in a different part of the town.

Halton’s development management committee meets next week where it is recommended to approve an application by Homes England for a 33Kv substation off Windmill Hill Avenue, just two metres from nearby houses and which would see the loss of trees and green space.

The station is designed to provide for the future power needs of two massive new build estates in a different area,  Sandymoor South phase two  – consisting of 250 properties -  and Wharford Farm, with 600 homes planned. Both are part of a wider scheme by government agency Homes England which ha seen 1,500 homes either built or receive planning permission in the area.

But local councillors are seeing red that the substation would be located in the ward of Norton North on green space, and not in Sandymoor - the area it would actually serve. They also fear it would result in the loss of biodiversity and have a detrimental impact on nearby properties.

A total of 35 letters of objection have been received including from a number of Runcorn councillors and the town's MP.

In one letter of objection, Norton North councillor Irene Bramwell, said: “I can see no logical reason as to why it is not being located in the area it will serve which is the Sandymoor and Daresbury Ward , as outlined in the original plan?"

Fellow ward councillor Geoffrey Logan has also objected, stating that the location was designated as green space in the council’s delivery and allocations local plan (DALP) - a blueprint which sets out the borough’s planning policy up to 2037 and was unanimously backed by Full Council in 2022. It acts as a guideline to what can, and can not be built in certain parts of the borough.

He said: "A site within the development space had previously been agreed and yet it has been moved to within two metres of existing properties in another electoral ward. The residents in these properties have in some cases been living there for over 30 years and there was never a plan to develop the area behind their properties."

Mike Ryan, councillor for Daresbury, Moore and Sandymoor, said: “The decisions made with regard to this type of application has implications, in my view, with regard to how we as Halton Borough Council and elected members view our local plan and how much commitment we have, and demonstrate, to its implementation."

Norton North Councillor Peter Lloyd Jones, added: "I suggest the issue as to why the applicant is preferring to locate in Norton is central to meaningful consideration of the application. Surely the applicant should be requested to provide an answer to this issue, with supporting evidence?"

Runcorn and Helsby MP Mike Amesbury has also objected, stating construction would lead to the removal of trees and disruption of habitats as well as impact local families.

He said: “Given that the substation is intended to serve the Sandymoor development, it would be more appropriate and equitable to locate it closer to the new housing area it is designed to support?"

A planning officer's report said that there was sufficient ‘surplus’  open space to offset the loss of this one area.

The report added: "Any residual harm is not considered to justify refusal of planning permission in this case given the benefits of the scheme in terms of securing grid capacity and potential future housing supply as allocated through the local plan."

The report recommends the committee delegate authority to the council’s planning director to approve the scheme once highways and drainage issues have been resolved.