Planning Matters
Welcome to our page on planning matters affecting our Parish. We will be updating this page with details around major planning matters together with useful information on how to respond to planning applications to Warrington Borough Council
Winwick Anaerobic Digester (BIOGAS) Proposal Update
On April 15th, members of Winwick Parish Council visited Severn Trent Green Power’s St Albans facility. Pictures of our visit are below
Severn Trent Green Energy St Albans
We spent an hour before the tour discussing your concerns. We also highlighted the wider context of this proposed plant and its impact on planning proposals for our village and beyond. We then spent 2 hours touring the facility and the local area to see how it could affect Winwick. We’d like to thank Severn Trent Green Power for arranging this visit and the constructive and frank conversation that we had.
As we have reflected on what we learnt, we have reached the following conclusions:
· Our main concern before the visit was the smell from the plant. Although we visited on a mild day, and it could be worse on a hot and windy day, the smell was generally not too strong.
· After our visit, we are more worried about the constant noise from the facility, including mechanical sounds, vehicles, and generators. We feel that this noise will cause issues for residents close-by and further afield, depending on prevailing winds.
· We are still very concerned about traffic. Vehicles visiting the facility, from small trucks to large HGVs, will add to local road traffic and could get stuck in congestion near homes.
· The size of the facility, both in height and overall scale, is completely out of character for our village. It will dominate the landscape on the west side of the village despite attempts to reduce this impact through the design of the structure.
In conclusion, while we understand the need for such facilities to reduce waste and carbon impact, but we think Winwick is not the right location.
The location was chosen mainly for economic reasons, such as the cost of connecting to gas infrastructure, with little concern for the impact on nearby residents, who will suffer with few benefits. Therefore, at our April council meeting, we unanimously voted to keep opposing the application when it comes forward.
No planning application has been received by WBC at the time of writing, so there are no immediate actions for residents. We have meetings scheduled with other organizations that have successfully opposed similar developments to learn from them, and are also planning a public meeting, together with our neighbouring parishes, to inform you about the actions you can take.
If you wish to sign up to our mailing list for more information as it becomes available, fill in the form below
Tritax Big Box SRFI Proposal
More details on this proposal can be found at Intermodal Logistics Park North | Tritax Big Box
A number of consultation events are being held, details are:
• Monday 10 February 2025 at Crownway Community Centre, 2-7pm
• Thursday 13 February 2025 at Golborne Parkside Sports & Community Club, 2-7pm
• Friday 28 February 2025 at Winwick Leisure Centre, 2 – 7pm
• Saturday 1 March 2025 at Newchurch Parish Hall, 10am-2pm
• Wednesday 5 March 2025 – Online Webinar, 6.30pm-8pm (Register for your place here.)
Please make every effort to attend one of these sessions, as this proposal will almost certainly have significant impact on traffic in Winwick Village and the surrounding area.
We will continue to update this page over time, if you would like to subscribe to our Planning Mailing List, please fill in your details below and we will send you updates via email.
