🏡 North Meols Parish Council – Detailed Summary of Objection Letter
Date: 3 September 2025
To: West Lancashire Borough Council, Planning Department
Application: 2024/1028/FUL – Land at Fleetwood Farm, Banks
Overall stance
North Meols Parish Council registers a formal objection to the proposed development.
The Council considers the application premature, incomplete, and non-compliant with the West Lancashire Local Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
The letter identifies four principal areas of concern:
Flood risk and failure of Sequential/Exception Tests
Heritage impact and loss of historic fabric
Loss of village-centre potential / need for mixed use
Extent of public opposition and policy inconsistency
1️⃣ Flood risk – Sequential and Exception Tests
The site lies wholly in Flood Zone 3, a high-risk category where only certain types of development are permissible.
The Sequential Test (which must prove there are no safer, lower-risk sites) is described as “incomplete and unsound.”
• The first submission (Dec 2024) listed a narrow and, in places, irrelevant range of comparison sites.
• The revised version (Jul 2025) added further sites but did not contact landowners.
• An independent review for WLBC identified five alternative sites needing further examination.
Because viable, lower-risk sites likely exist, the application fails Local Plan Policy GN3 and NPPF §163–165.
Consequently, the Exception Test (which weighs wider benefits against flood risk) also cannot be satisfied until a valid Sequential Test exists.
The Parish Council argues that approving now would be premature and potentially unlawful, as the flood-risk evidence base is incomplete.
2️⃣ Heritage impact and historic environment
Fleetwood Farm is an 18th-century farmhouse, reportedly dated 1787, with a long-house form typical of early Lancashire agricultural buildings.
It stands in a prominent position opposite the parish church, giving it strong group value and visual importance within Banks village.
Within the site boundary sits a historic “Hundred Marker” boundary stone of significant local importance.
No meaningful consultation has occurred with the Lancashire County Council Historic Environment Team or any heritage specialist.
The Parish Council therefore requests that Fleetwood Farm be recognised as a Non-Designated Heritage Asset (NDHA) under Local Plan Policy EN4 and that the current proposal, which risks loss or unsympathetic alteration, be resisted.
They insist that any redevelopment must retain and sensitively restore the farmhouse and protect the Hundred Marker in situ.
3️⃣ Village-centre role and need for mixed use
Banks is classed as a Large Village in the West Lancashire Local Plan.
Policy IF1 emphasises sustaining village-centre vitality and viability by supporting community, retail, and service uses.
Since 2013, approximately 496 new dwellings have been approved or built in Banks with no accompanying facilities.
Fleetwood Farm is identified as the last centrally-located site capable of providing a mixed-use development (small retail, community, health or leisure elements) that would balance further housing growth.
A housing-only scheme would permanently foreclose that opportunity and therefore conflict with Policies SP1 (Sustainable Development), IF1 (Village Centres), and aspects of NPPF §92 – Promoting healthy and safe communities.
4️⃣ Public interest and consultation
The Parish Council records a petition of over 1,300 signatures opposing the housing-only proposal.
Common public concerns include:
• flood risk and drainage capacity;
• traffic and access pressures on the village centre;
• loss of historic character; and
• absence of shops or community facilities in recent developments.
The Council notes that the level of local opposition represents a material planning consideration and should be afforded weight by decision-makers.
🧭 Conclusion and formal request
The Parish Council requests that West Lancashire Borough Council refuse or defer the application until:
A compliant Sequential and Exception Test is completed (including land-owner engagement and analysis of all alternative sites).
The Historic Environment Team and relevant heritage bodies have been consulted and their findings incorporated.
A mixed-use alternative has been properly assessed that delivers community benefits in line with Policies GN3, EN4 and IF1, and with the NPPF.
The letter closes with a clear statement that the current proposal fails to meet core planning principles of sustainability, heritage protection, and community provision, and should therefore not proceed in its present form.
Summary in one sentence
North Meols Parish Council objects to application 2024/1028/FUL because the flood-risk evidence is incomplete, Fleetwood Farm’s heritage significance is under-assessed, and a housing-only scheme would eliminate the last realistic chance for mixed-use facilities in Banks, contrary to multiple Local Plan policies and the NPPF.
Link to full letter below