The planning application for no. 37 Stanley Road, Hoylake, in Wirral, proposes demolition of the existing traditional house and replacement with a modern 4 storey block of nine luxury apartments. The property lies within the Meols Drive Conservation area, and overlooks the Red Rocks beach and Site of Special Scientific Interest. This development will change the skyline of a favourite beauty spot at the mouth of the Dee Estuary, and jeopardise the Royal Liverpool Golf Club as a venue for the prestigious Open Golf Championship. The disruption to the wild life, including the endangered Natterjack toad, will be considerable, as they are known to forage in the grounds of the property, and the blasting or drilling of the rock under the property to make an underground car park would create considerable disruption of the Natterjack’s breeding grounds adjacent to the property.

The development is the thin end of a wedge that the developers hope will lead to a complete modern development of Stanley Road , with the destruction of the fine traditional buildings completely altering the ambience. The result would see the Eastern side of the mouth of the Dee, very popular with walkers and beach visitors, become a development of modern blocks of flats.