Land at Spring Lane (Former Spring Lane Nurseries) Croft. Warrington. WA3 7AS.

We are part of the great community that makes up the village of Croft within the borough of Warrington.

It is our endeavour to protect the green belt from inappropriate development in pursuit of maintaining the place we live as a high-quality environment for people and wildlife.

A planning application for 10 caravans along with a communal building was submitted in May 2024 and validated in December 2024. It was later refused by Warrington Borough Council in March 2025 because the application didn’t comply with the policies that aim to protect the green belt and ensure that homes are provided in places that allow good quality of life for those who live there.

The objections from residents of Croft against the application were vast and is testament to the values held by them that they are striving to protect the place they live.

An independent planning consultant and expert in green belt development has been appointed to review the situation and agreed that the application site is in a non-sustainable and unsuitable location. It is subject to poor air quality and noise from the adjacent M62 motorway, parts are in flood plain and the risks of flooding elsewhere are potentially exacerbated by unlawful works carried out at the site that contravenes green belt policies and interferes with its valued characteristics.

The owner of the site has 'appealed' the legitimate decision to refuse planning permission by our council and a one-day hearing is scheduled to be held by the Planning Inspectorate on the 16th of October at the Base in Warrington. Warrington Borough Council will be presenting their defence of their decision (to refuse planning) against the appeal by the land owner/applicant. However, the residents of Spring Lane and New Lane need to make 'representations' to the Planning Inspector also justifying their objections by no later than 5TH of August 2025.

To this end the residents have again requested the help of the planning consultancy that was instrumental in proposing objections put forward at the planning application stage, ultimately leading to refusal of the application first time around.

The residents have now engaged the same consultants to act to make representations against the appeal on behalf of residents of Spring Lane, New Lane and Croft village as a whole. As part of this, they have already commissioned an independent expert in review of the appeal noise report, at a cost of £1,600.

We have set up this 'Go Fund Me' platform page to help raise funds to pay for the planning consultant and other professionals fees in making appeal representations for Croft residents. The fees involved to be successful to have the original planning application refused and review the appeal submissions so far have been over £2,500.00 and were funded by contributions from local residents. However, this is not affordable to continue and the net is now being cast wider to nearby businesses and the whole of the community of Croft and surrounding areas to help fund this important cause.

The target to cover the costs in liaising with Warrington Borough Council, collating evidence, reviewing the appellants evidence, experts advise and writing documents and reports to appear at the one-day hearing is estimated at circa £9,500.00. This is the goal set for this project.

This is the cost to help protect the place we live from inappropriate and unsustainable development.

Update 14.10.2025.

The original one day hearing has been changed to a four day 'public inquiry' and is scheduled to be heard on the 25th of November 2025. The justification for the residents representations have to be submitted to the Planning Inspector justifying their objections by no later than 15th 0f October 2025.

The fees to date have been over £2,500 and have been funded by contributions of local residents to have successfully had the original planning application refused and with work being done towards the inquiry.

Whilst the appeal was initially set as a one day hearing, it has now been changed to a four day inquiry with cost now estimated at circa £20,000. this is the new goal set for this project.

This is the cost to help protect the place we live from inappropriate and un sustainable development.