A TARGET to build 816 new homes a year as part of the Local Plan is ambitious and will not be ‘easy to achieve’, according to a councillor.

The Local Plan – which aims to deliver the homes, jobs, supporting infrastructure and community facilities Warrington needs – was formally adopted as the new development plan for the borough at the full council meeting in December.

It aims to deliver a minimum of 14,688 new homes between 2021-22 and 2038-39, equating to 816 per year.

Furthermore, it aims to support Warrington’s ongoing economic success by ensuring provision is made to meet the need for 168 hectares of employment land between 2021-22 and 2038-39.

The plan’s main priority remains to optimise the development potential of the existing urban area, which can accommodate around 10,900 new homes in the plan period. This means green belt land for around 4,400 homes needs to be released for the council to meet its housing requirement.

The total amount of land proposed to be removed from the green belt is 390 hectares – equating to 3.4 per cent of the total amount of green belt land in the borough.

Liberal Democrat Cllr Bob Barr, the leader of the town’s Liberal Democrats, says the Local Plan adopted by the council has given the development management team ‘considerably more power to negotiate’ with those seeking planning permission to ensure development complies with council policy.

“Had the local plan not been passed, it would have been much harder to turn down planning applications, including those in the green belt, because Warrington was not meeting the house building target for the town laid down by Government,” he added.

“In its final version, the Local Plan reduced the number of houses to be built on green belt to less than half originally proposed.

“To protect green belt further, the Western Link, not yet fully funded, would open up the Mersey waterfront for substantial non-green belt housing development within walking distance of the town centre.

“The target of 816 homes per year, set to comply with the number set by government without which the Local Plan would probably not have passed inspection, is ambitious, and will not be easy to achieve.

“What is most important is that housing built in Warrington meets local needs, not developers’ aspirations to maximise profit.

“We need substantially more homes to be let at social rent to tackle the homelessness crisis in Warrington. We need lifetime homes that older residents can downsize into and starter homes affordable for young families.

“Where housing is built on green belt, its impact should be minimised. ‘Our Green Warrington’ have many good ideas about how appropriate additional housing can be accommodated in the green belt without too much impact.”

Cllr Barr is not standing in the all-out elections in Warrington on Thursday.