Thelwall Heys
Thelwall Heys is a plot of land between the Bridgewater Canal, the Trans Pennine Trail and Knutsford Road / Cliff Lane. It surrounds the Grade II listed Thelwall Heys Hall and consists of agricultural land formerly allocated as greenbelt. Based on the name, there is some confusion about whether this lies in Grappenhall or Thelwall, but in reality, any changes will affect residents of the parish of Grappenhall and Thelwall.
The land is now earmarked for development of at least 300 properties following adoption of Warrington Borough Council's Local Plan. We anticipate that planning permission may be sought in 2024, but prior to this there will be a public consultation that we hope the local residents engage with. Subject to planning permission, the construction would probably start early in 2025.
If this goes ahead, we would like to ensure that it is a high quality development that is sympathetic both to the green setting and the local heritage and history. This is a unique setting alongside the Bridgewater Canal, the Trans Pennine Trail and scenic farmland, and we feel that this provides an opportunity for a really attractive and well thought through development that both the local community and the developers could feel proud of. Most of all we want developers to make this an attractive and welcoming development that enhances the area.
We are a group of local residents who live close to, or are interested in Thelwall Heys. We have been meeting for several months in light of the allocation of Thelwall Heys as a site for development in the Warrington Local Plan and we have also been reporting to the steering group for the emerging Grappenhall and Thelwall Neighbourhood Plan on a monthly basis from January 2024. We have considered relevant policies in the Warrington Local Plan along with national guidance such as the National Planning Policy Framework, the National Design Guide, the National Model Design Code and Warrington Borough Council's Design Guide SPD (Supplementary Planning Document) and have now drafted a "Design Code" for development at Thelwall Heys - a document that sets out design objectives we expect to be met in any development at the site.
Click here to look at the Design Code
In this document we seek to emphasise what we, as local people, see as important in the design and implementation of the development and make suggestions as to how we would wish the proposals to be designed. We have also considered feedback from the community in Grappenhall and Thelwall following public events relating to the emerging Grappenhall and Thelwall Neighbourhood Plan and hope that the objectives set out in this document reflect that feedback.
The overarching aim of this document is to propose ways in which development can be accomplished in such a way as to meet all the objectives of national planning guidance, the adopted Warrington Local Plan but also to exceed these requirements and produce an exemplar scheme which will be a credit to the area and to the developer of it.
This website is likely to be temporary and is for information only. The content reflects the thoughts and work by a group of residents and other locals who, informed by feedback provided by the community in connection with the emerging Grappenhall and Thelwall Neighbourhood Plan, want to ensure that future development is as good as it can be in this beautiful green setting. Everyone is a volunteer, with other commitments, so bear with us if the content is not perfect or completely up to date, particularly as planning, policy and discussions can move rapidly.
We want it to be a repository for relevant information, or for signposting people to other resources or documents held elsewhere. We hope that our design plan reflects the views of the local community. In particular, we hope that the work we do will have a positive influence on the outcome for Thelwall Heys, but also that it will positively influence a longer term planning strategy for the parish, by feeding into the emerging Grappenhall and Thelwall Neighbourhood Plan. We are inviting you to follow our progress.
Most importantly, please engage yourself with all pre-planning public consultation, planning applications and together we hope to make Thelwall Heys as good as it can be.
Please also see updates below:
UPDATES
Update: 1 October 2024
Consultation - short extension for feedback to 4th October
If you did not manage to provide your feedback before the previous deadline, or if you attended the consultation evening at Thelwall Parish Hall and now have additional comments, then it appears that you may still have a couple of days to feedback to the developers - their website now indicates that responses can be submitted up until this Friday 4th October.
We have suggested that it would be helpful if they could acknowledge receipt of feedback responses, even if they do not feel able to respond to individual comments or specific questions at this stage. We are hoping that they will provide some general responses following the consultation, particularly in relation to the common issues and key concerns that are being highlighted.
Update: 15 September 2024
Feedback ideas
If you are still considering what feedback you want to provide to the developers of Thelwall Heys, then please consider the following points:
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Good Design - does it fit in with Grappenhall and Thelwall?
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Landscape Led Development - is the design appropriate for the location and does it respect existing views?
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Preserving and Enhancing Green and Blue Infrastructure - is the rural setting taken into account?
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Biodiversity - are wildlife, hedges, trees and water considered?
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Connectivity and Active Travel - public transport, walking, cycling, traffic, parking?
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Character, Architecture, Residential Design - are the houses high quality and appropriate for the area?
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Streets, Pavements, Footpaths, Cycle Paths, Street Furniture - how will it look and feel when built?
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Public Open Space and Recreation - will people want to spend time outside?
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Sustainability - what about the local and global environmental impact?
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Building Process - timescales, hours of work, noise, traffic, disruption, or other problems, as it is being built?
If you are unsure what these mean, then have a look at our Design Code above. Consider what is important to you and your household, and then write down your key comments - these don't have to be long and detailed, if you are short of time - a list of bullet points can be very effective.
Update: 13 September 2024
One week left to respond formally, and addition of an in-person consultation at Thelwall Parish Hall
There is only one week left to respond to the Castle Green consultation, via www.thelwallheysconsultation.co.uk
before the 20th September. You may wish to reference our residents' Design Code, or parts of it, however please take time to consider your own additional or separate key points. Feel free to remind others of the deadline, and to share or signpost others to the document, if you feel it is helpful.
Also, some of you may have had an additional leaflet delivered today - following suggestions put forward at the initial meeting with the developers, the Parish Councillors' and staff have kindly managed to set-up an additional in person consultation with Castle Green representatives at Thelwall Parish Hall on Friday 27th September (9-11am, and, 6:30-8pm). Please try to attend if you can, as all parties are keen for the opinions of residents to be heard.
Update: 10 September 2024
Residents' Group Design Code for Thelwall Heys
If you wish to respond to the Thelwall Heys pre-planning consultation, you may wish to look at our residents' group "Design Code" (please use the button link in the main text above). Once downloaded, you may need to locate and open the file, which provides an overview of the key considerations that our residents' group has pulled together over the course of 2024, and then quickly updated once we became aware of the Castle Green consultation. You may agree with our considerations, or simply refer to the key headings to help you collate your own thoughts, but either way it is important that you engage with the consultation, and provide your feedback, in your own words, before the 20th September.
Update: 29 August 2024
Castle Green Homes Discussion
Thanks to the Parish Council for helping to facilitate a meeting between some members of our local residents' group and the Castle Green developers. The developers provided a useful overview of their pre-planning proposal and listened to some of our initial comments and answered our questions. We discussed with them how the consultation process could be of maximum benefit to all parties and reiterated that residents who take the time to provide comments would really appreciate a transparent process, and honest feedback. They highlighted the value and importance of local residents' input while taking into account the context of the local plan. All parties agreed that they wanted any development to be carefully considered, high-quality, and sympathetic to the local heritage and green location.
Update: 12 August 2024
Castle Green Homes Pre-Planning Consultation
Castle Green Homes have delivered leaflets to a number of properties within close proximity to Thelwall Heys. These leaflets provide details of how to view and comment on the proposed development, and provide a link to the developer's own website at: www.thelwallheysconsultation.co.uk
The consultation is only open until Friday 20th September 2024, and provides an opportunity for local residents to feed back their opinions on the proposed development. At this stage, we don't believe there will be any public meetings or additional information provided by the developer.
We hope to provide some relevant information, prepared by our local residents group, in the coming weeks, but would encourage you to review the plan and start to prepare your own individual responses. The developer has an obligation to consider and review public responses prior to finalising and submitting detailed plans.
Update: 7 August 2024
Castle Green Homes Pre-Planning Consultation
Castle Green Homes, the developer likely to be building the homes at Thelwall Heys is to open a pre-planning public consultation from Monday 12 August 2024 for a period of six weeks.
