West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper has welcomed the Borough Council’s decision not to proceed with the proposed 30 year local plan as it currently stands.

Hundreds of residents contacted her to express their concerns over the options being considered including up to 16,000 houses being built over the next 30 years, much of which was to be built on designated greenbelt.

Rosie contacted the council to make clear residents’ views on the development of the local plan, and further concerns over infrastructure and amenities.

Following Council Leader Ian Moran and Planning Portfolio Holder Cllr John Hodson’s announcement to ‘make significant changes’, West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper commented:“I am of course pleased that the Council have listened to the views of my constituents and look to be scrapping large elements of this unwanted 30 year local plan.

“Hundreds of residents contacted me expressing their deep concerns with poor roads, schools at capacity and an already buckling GP, hospital and NHS provision locally.

“Many residents agreed with the need to build more houses, provide for their children and reduce homelessness, but not at the scale at which was proposed or the manner of building on Grade I agricultural farmland in the greenbelt.

“With future uncertainty, it would be foolish to press ahead with allowing development take place on land we may very well need to provide our own food supplies.

“I now call on the council to urgently work with residents and identify where there is West Lancashire housing need for the elderly, disabled, young families starting out and those who are in genuine need of access to social, affordable or council housing.

“It may even be the right time to abandon these plans altogether and go back to the drawing board.”

(All of which begs the obvious question - what did the person who invented the drawing board go back to when they cocked up their original ideas?)