The Local Plan and what it means for West Kirby

May 2022

OWK's Group Member, Paul Sheppard, explains the current Local Plan and what it means for West Kirby:

On 9th May Wirral Council finally published the Submission Draft of its new Local Plan.  This is the document that the Council will submit to the Secretary of State for independent Examination and which it wishes to adopt subject to the recommendations of a Planning Inspector.  It has some interesting content for West Kirby.

The Plan will provide the strategy and policies to guide the scale and location of regeneration and development across Wirral from now until 2037, including, amongst other things

  • planning objectives and principles

  • detailed policies to guide land use and planning decisions

  • locations for new homes, workplaces and facilities

  • environmental designations and proposals for the conservation and enhancement of historic and natural assets.

There is now a 6 week period of consultation (from 9th May to 24th June) when anyone can submit representations on the Plan.  As part of this there will be a drop-in session at West Kirby Library on 19th May from 2pm -8pm where people can find out more.

You can also go to the Council’s Local Plan web page – there are links to all the documents, and guidance on how representations can be made.

It’s a long document and many of the policies are Borough-wide, but there is a specific section on Hoylake and West Kirby – you can find this on pages 225 to 231 of the Draft Plan.

What might this mean for West Kirby?

Overall priorities for Hoylake and West Kirby are set out in paragraph 5.51 on page 226. Specific policies for West Kirby, including conservation areas, town centre proposals, and a policy for housing at Grange Hill Farm, follow in Policy WP6, and land allocations / policies are shown on the proposals map.

Of particular significance is the proposal for a Neighbourhood Framework for the central West Kirby area to inform investment in public realm and identify other opportunities to improve the vitality of the Town Centre.

Alongside this is a proposal to prepare a Masterplan for the Concourse Area, to promote:

  • a revitalised community hub comprising leisure, residential, health, retail, community and transport uses

  • landmark buildings of appropriate scale and height that create an enhanced sense of place and focal points of interest

  • improved access to West Kirby Railway Station and the creation of a new public square

  • support for public transport accessibility.

The Council will also complete a comprehensive review of car parking requirements in 2022.

It’s encouraging to see that there are allocations of key sites in the town as Greenspace, and a policy commitment to retain the Green Belt surrounding West Kirby.

One West Kirby welcomes the publication of the Local Plan.  We strongly support the proposal for a Neighbourhood Framework and Masterplan, and also the statement in the Plan that landowners, business, the local community and other key partners will be engaged in this process.  These are things we’ve campaigned for over the past few years.  We will continue to work with all parties to ensure that local people, organisations and businesses can be actively involved from the outset.  We will also examine other aspects of the Local Plan in more detail and respond accordingly.

Do take a look at the Local Plan, and look out too for further information on the Neighbourhood Framework and Masterplan in the coming months.