11 August 2008, 08/182
Destination Kirkby "called in"
West Lancs District Council has welcomed the Government’s decision
to “call in” for a public inquiry the controversial proposals for a
new Everton football stadium with a shops, hotel and office complex
at Kirkby.
The Council had objected to the Kirkby proposals because it believes the impact on
Skelmersdale town centre could be so
serious that the scheme would undermine the regeneration plans for
the town centre.
Cllr Adrian Owens, WLDC portfolio holder for
regeneration, said: “The Council has worked hard with its partners
to produce realistic and commercially viable proposals that will
see a lasting regeneration of Skelmersdale town centre with the environmental,
economic and social benefits that
it will bring not only to the town, but to the district as a whole.
We see the proposals at Kirkby as being
completely out of scale, and likely to prejudice the success not
only of the Skelmersdale regeneration
scheme but also the retail vitality of other sub-regional
centres.”
A public inquiry into the Kirkby scheme will be held in the next 12 months.
This will give the Council and the adjoining authorities the
opportunity to have their views fully heard before a decision is
made, and allow the Council to put forward arguments to try to
safeguard proposals for the regeneration of Skelmersdale town centre.
The District Council accepts that there is a
clear need to regenerate Kirkby town
centre, and that the town shares many issues with Skelmersdale. In principle, therefore, the
Council is supportive of efforts to improve Kirkby for residents and visitors.
However, the proposals at Kirkby are of such a scale that they could have a
negative impact upon regeneration efforts in West Lancashire. In
particular:
- The quantitative need for the scale of the retail development
proposed at Kirkby has not been
proven.
- The scale of the retail development is wholly inappropriate and
is in conflict with Knowsley's Unitary
Development Plan and the existing and emerging Regional Spatial
Strategy for the North West.
- The retail impact assessment submitted by DPP in support of the
Kirkby proposal is flawed and
under-estimates the impact on neighbouring town centres.
- Significant trade will be diverted from Ormskirk and Skelmersdale Town Centres if the development of that scale at
Kirkby is permitted.
Michelle Taylor, regional director of
St Modwen Properties PLC, the
Council's development partner for the Skelmersdale town centre regeneration project
added: “The regeneration of Skelmersdale is not only an important scheme for
the town itself but also for the surrounding areas.
“The Kirkby scheme
will have a widespread affect on many towns in its vicinity,
as well as Skelmersdale and is likely to undermine
the deliverability of our scheme. This has clearly been
recognised by the Government and we
wholly support the decision to call the proposals in."
The Council’s concerns were shared by
neighbouring authorities who jointly
funded a study by retail experts, which supported the councils’
view that the Kirkby development was
too large and would be detrimental to regeneration in a number of
towns, including Skelmersdale.
Related information
> Regeneration projects
> Living
in West Lancs