Summary of the Campaign

For people who are new to the campaign..

Liverpool City Council has a proposal to sell 9 acres of green space on the east of Sefton Park on Park Avenue.

This land is not technically part of the Grade 2 listed park but it is classified as Green Space and within the Sefton Park Conservation Area. It has never been built on.

Despite being close to a large park land is well used by local people, the scouts, student groups, and is appreciated by people who live close by and drive past.

It's not clear why the council wants to sell the land - sometimes they say they need the money for ongoing repairs to roads, sometimes they say they want to build a permanent stage inside the park, sometimes they say they want to improve running track. None of these ideas have been written down, costed, or discussed with any of the local neighbourhood groups.

This land is an important buffer to the wild area just over the road in Sefton park. This is an important resource for small animals and wild flowers which was recognised in the recent large Heritage Lottery bid which paid for many of the renovations to the park.

You can download the council's proposals here. 

The Council Cabinet have approved the plan to sell - but it now has to go the Regeneration Committee meeting in the Town Hall on Thursday 4th April.

Please will you help the campaign by..

• Writing to the Mayor mayor@liverpool.gov.uk and to the Cabinet Member for Regeneration malcolm.kennedy@liverpool.gov.uk
• Signing the online petition (This is on the council website and you might have to register)
• Printing off and putting up this poster
• Joining us at a Mass Picnic on Easter Monday 1st April at 2:30pm on the fields
• Joining us outside the Regeneration Committee meeting at the Town Hall on Thursday 4th April. We are meeting at 4:30pm. You will probably be able to go in and observe the meeting.
• Coming to a Public Meeting on April 16th at Greenbank Academy, Greenbank Lane at 7pm.

..and joining in the discussions on Facebook, in the media and with your friends an colleagues. The Council has just canceled it's plans to build on green land on Jericho Lane - so we know it is possible to stop this sale.

What is going on Joe?

We are getting a lot of different, confusing messages from Mayor Joe Anderson about how he wants to spend the money from selling the Sefton Park Meadows.

Tom Crone Green Party Candidate for St Michael's Ward

Last week on the Roger Phillips show on Radio Merseyside, Mayor Anderson was saying that he needed the money to build a stage in Sefton Park. Yesterday he sent out tweets saying “Money used from land sale used to refurbish park new play areas, new cycle paths, new running paths”

Make your mind up

None of these ideas are based on any costed written plan. The various community groups around the park have not had any proposals for discussions, and have not asked for any of the items on the Mayor’s ever changing shopping list.

The Council’s own Sefton Park Forum met for it’s regular meeting the week before the proposal to sell the land was submitted, and had no inkling of the proposed sale, nor of any need for additional funds.

When is the Mayor going to start talking with the ordinary people of Liverpool about what they want?

Putting the cart before the horse

We should not be putting in proposals to destroy the heritage of the city before it is clear that the money is needed.

License to drink

Without consulting with any of the community groups the City Council has put in a licensing application to sell alcohol in Sefton Park to between 30,000 and 39,999 people all year round.

Currently events have to apply for temporary licences – usually up to 10,000 people.

You can look at the scanty information and object here  http://liverpool.gov.uk/Business/licences-and-permits/entertainment-and-alcohol-licences/representations/

Local people are justifiably alarmed at this proposal. Again it is treating people with contempt to make plans without adequate consultation.

Tom Crone,

Green Party candidate for St. Michaels Ward

Council shifts it's position

The City Council is signaling a shift in it's position on Sefton Park Meadows.

Campaigners have today received emails from Councillor Malcolm Kennedy Cabinet Member - Regeneration which indicate a shift the council's position over Sefton Park Meadows. Previously Mayor Anderson and Councillor Kennedy have insisted that this land would was not green land within the Conservation Area of Sefton Park, and that the Unitary Development Plan of 2002 did not apply.

Councillor Kennedy has today with this new email (copied below in full) admitted that the land does in fact fall under the Unitary Development Plan. He also goes on to say that Liverpool is not obliged under national government policy to build more houses than it is already planning to build on brownfield sites. There is no need to build on this green field site.

There are some however issues of concern emerging from this email:-

1. Councillor Kennedy seems to imply that they need to sell this capital asset to cover revenue funds - I think that this would be illegal. 
2. Councillor Kennedy writes "Neither the decision to dispose nor the sale of the land constitutes the granting of a planning permission." and yet at the Cabinet meeting on Friday he was clearly saying that the land would be sold subject to planning permission.

There are issues that we still need to raise with Councillor Kennedy and Mayor Anderson..

1. We need confirmation from them that Sefton Park Meadows is part of the Sefton Park Conservation area and that they would respect the rules about development in a conservation area.
2. We need some clarification about how they would plan to use the money from the sale.
3. We need to them to confirm that they would not sell the land if planning permission was unlikely to be forthcoming.


What follows is the email that several campaigners have today received from Councillor Malcolm Kennedy


Thank you for providing me with this opportunity to explain the context to the news concerning the Park Avenue site that has appeared in the media and which was the subject of a Mayoral recommendation report to Cabinet on Friday 22nd March.

The City Council is as you will be aware facing enormous financial challenges which will make it increasingly difficult and in some instances impossible to maintain the services and facilities, especially the non-statutory assets, that many people enjoy such as Parks and recreational areas.

At the same time The City Council is required by the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to prepare a new Local Plan which will replace the UDP.  The Local Plan must meet Liverpool's objectively assessed needs for new development and bring forward viable sites on which development can be delivered.

Moreover there is an express requirement in the NPPF to deliver more housing and in order to ensure we comply with this, the Government require that we have a minimum of a five year supply of deliverable housing sites. 

This week we have published a draft of the 2012 Update of the Liverpool Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA).  As it currently stands, the draft SHLAA update shows that Liverpool only just meets the minimum 5 year supply measure.  This is unfortunately the case because while the City does possess a lot of brownfield sites which could physically accommodate development, far too many are not sufficiently viable to meet the 5 year supply criteria.

Through no fault of its own Liverpool is both a victim of recession and government policies which will force us to make difficult choices.  It is important to me, the Mayor, and the City to keep these to a minimum.

To this end in the summer the City Council will begin the preparation of a new Local Plan. The new Local Plan must be based upon a new comprehensive City wide review of all sites and policies, including new and emerging ideas for development like land at Park Avenue, which are capable of delivering development. It will also need to take account of the best information we have on matters such as what potential sites we have, as is set out in the SHLAA.

The Council will be embarking on an extensive and inclusive engagement and consultation process on the new Local Plan later this year. In the meantime, any potential planning application submitted for development at Park Avenue in advance of this process would be determined in the light of existing Unitary Development Plan Policies, our emerging Core Strategy/Local Plan Policy and the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework.

These policies allow for material harm, or loss, of open space to be considered and weighed against benefits secured, together with other issues such as the function and use of the open space.

With this in mind any particulars for the sale of the Park Avenue site will make it very clear that the any future owner seeking planning permission to develop the site would need to satisfy Policy OE11 and others from the UDP.  Neither the decision to dispose nor the sale of the land constitutes the granting of a planning permission.

With relation to the Mayor's Pledges you must take into consideration more than this site I. Isolation but the plans for Everton Park, North Liverpool's Greenprint for Growth, and the £6 million we are already investing in the roads around Sefton Park.

As for my views being extraordinary given I am a local resident all I can say is that it is not unusual for people to differ in their views. As a Cabinet Member I have to take a longer term view in the interests of the city as a whole than simply the area around where I live.

Regards

Malcolm Kennedy

The e-petition on the council website

Many people have been having a problem signing the e-petition on the council website.

The problem is with the council website and I am writing to Mayor Anderson to ask him to get it fixed ( while drawing attention to the more than 500 people who have signed).

Our friend Paul Slater has written these useful instructions that should help you to sign it quicker..

   to sign the e-petition, another way of doing it, is to:-
  (1)  Go onto the city council website (www.Liverpool.gov.uk),
  (2)  Then in the 'Enter Search Text' box, in the top right hand corner, type in 'petitions', and press enter.
  (3)  'Current e petitions' is at the top of the list.  Click on this, and a list of the current e-petitions is presented.
  (4)  Click on the petition, that you wish to sign.
  (5)  Read through the text, to make sure you have the correct e-petition.  Be very careful, as a bogus e-petition called 'The Meadowlands' has been set up.  This actually supports the sale, and development of the site.  The one for objecting, is called 'Sale of land at Park Avenue'.
  (6)  Click onto 'Log in or Register, and sign the e-petition'.
  (7)  If you have never signed an e-petition, on this site before, you will have to register as a new user.  To do this, click on to register as a new user, and follow the instructions.  You will have to provide an e-mail address, and a password (specific for accessing the e-petitions site).
  (8)  Once registered, the e-petition can be signed.

Is it a conservation area or not?

There seems to be confusion about the status of Sefton Park meadows.

The Unitary Development Plan 2002 clearly shows the land as 'Green Space' and within the Sefton Park Conservation Area. see http://liverpool.gov.uk/Images/UDPMap.pdf

We have been speaking to a planning officer who says that the Unitary Development Plan is still in force.

Mayor Anderson has been on Radio Merseyside today saying that it is not in the Conservation Area and not classified as Green Land - but so far he has not produced any documents to back up his assertion. We've written to him - but so far no response.

Please write to him and the Councillor responsible and ask them to provide the documents that clarify the status of the land.

You can email them at.. mayor@liverpool.gov.uk and malcolm.kennedy@liverpool.gov.uk

Copy in your own councillors.

Thanks everyone.

Is it a conservation area or not?

There seems to be confusion about the status of Sefton Park meadows.

The Unitary Development Plan 2002 clearly shows the land as 'Green Space' and within the Sefton Park Conservation Area. see http://liverpool.gov.uk/Images/UDPMap.pdf

We have been speaking to a planning officer who says that the Unitary Development Plan is still in force.

Mayor Anderson has been on Radio Merseyside today saying that it is not in the Conservation Area and not classified as Green Land - but so far he has not produced any documents to back up his assertion. We've written to him - but so far no response.

Please write to him and the Councillor responsible and ask them to provide the documents that clarify the status of the land.

You can email them at.. mayor@liverpool.gov.uk and malcolm.kennedy@liverpool.gov.uk

Copy in your own councillors.

Thanks everyone.

Policy to protect green space

Policy to Protect Green Space

The proposal to sell Sefton Park Meadows for housing appears to contrary to Liverpool Council's own policy.

The Liverpool Council Unitary Development unitary development clearly shows Sefton Park Meadows as Green space. You can download the plan at liverpool.gov.uk/Images/UDPmap.pdf

The map shows Sefton Park Meadows as OE11 - this refers to the section of the policy that covers Green Spaces.

This is what OE11 says:

PROTECTION OF GREEN SPACE
OE11

Planning permission will not be granted for built development on part or all of any green space unless the proposed development can be accommodated without material harm to:

i. the recreational function of the green space, unless:
 

• the development is ancillary to the use of the site for active or passive outdoor recreation and enhances its value for these activities;
• the site does not lie in an area of open space deficiency or its development would not create an area of open space deficiency;
• a replacement facility of at least equal quality and suitable size is provided at an appropriate location to ensure that an area of open space deficiency would not otherwise be created ;
• in the case of green space in educational use, the development is specifically required for educational purposes and that suitable and convenient alternative recreational facilities are available.

ii. the visual amenity value of the green space in terms of:
 

• important vistas into and across the site;
• key frontages which are visible from a main road;
• important trees and landscape features, and the character of the site within the surrounding area; or
• its importance as open land in an otherwise closely developed area;

iii. its relationship to adjoining green spaces, particularly whether the development might destroy a valuable link between areas of green spaces; and

iv. any known nature conservation value as identified in policy OE5.




Clearly planning permission should not be granted on this bit of green space. But we must remain vigilant.


Write to Councillor Malcolm.Kennedy@liverpool.gov.uk and mayor@liverpool.gov.uk and ask them to clarify the policy towards building on Green Spaces

Half Baked Plan

It seems that there are several inconsistencies around how the council are planning to dispose of the green land at Sefton Park Meadows.

1. The Council's proposal clearly says that they want to sell the land for housing and yet they haven't done any of the investigations - like an environmental assessment - that would be needed before planning permission can be granted. However Councillor Malcolm Kennedy is telling people "In my view and at this time there does not appear to be any planning reason for the consent to be withheld" He should know - he's on the planning committee.

The worry is that senior Councillors have already decided to give planning permission before making the necessary investigations.

2. The council is saying that "This proposal is a potential means to raise resources which can be primarily aimed at investing in the park. Otherwise given the current financial constraints the park itself is likely to decline." But they have not put any such proposal to the Sefton Park Forum - which is the council's own committee to oversee the park. It is clear that they thought of this after they decided to sell off our green land.

The good news is that I have received a supportive email from Councillor Patrick Hurley (Labour) from Mossley Hill Ward.

We need to keep the pressure up.

Please write again to Councillor Malcolm.kennedy@Liverpool.gov.uk and mayor@liverpool.gov.uk

Also write to your own Councillors.

Councillor Malcolm Kennedy has written to say..

1. That they don't need an environmental impact assessment for a sale. You need that when planning permission is considered.

2. The money for the sale will be used to make improvements to the park.

My response is...

1. If environmental considerations are not to be taken into account until planning permission is considered, Why are they clearly saying that the plan is to sell the land for housing? You will obviously get a higher price is there is a high probability that planning permission will be given. The people of Liverpool would be excused for thinking that you are planning to sell off important assets without investigating what proper safe guards should be in place. You should either have a full environmental impact assessment before the sale, or remove any mention of selling for housing from the proposal. Ideally of course you should reject the proposal altogether.

2.  It seems from you reply that the plan to sell of these green fields is linked to some other spending plans, indeed this was mentioned in the Echo yesterday. It is very odd that this plan has not been mentioned within the proposal. Please will you publish the plans so that the citizens of Liverpool can evaluate the merits of the case.

Take Action

We only have a few weeks to save Sefton Park Meadows.

The worst case scenario is that the sale of the land is agreed by the Cabinet on Friday 22nd.

Greenbank ward councillors have the power to delay this by 'calling in the agenda item'. This means that the issue goes to the Regeneration Special Committee for discussion on 5th April.

The key people to influence are Malcolm Kennedy who is in the Cabinet and responsible for Regeneration.

Email Malcolm at malcolm.kennedy@liverpool.gov.uk

Also Mayor Joe Anderson, mayor@liverpool.gov.uk

It is also worth emailling your own councillors. There are 3 councillors in each ward and you can find the contact information - and email addresses at http://councillors.liverpool.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?

Please email today. Time is short.

Please copy me (Martin Dobson) in with any responses saveseftonparkmeadows@gmail.com


Thanks

They want to use the money to build a stage

Liverpool Echo Post 19 March

Land sell-off close to Liverpool’s Sefton Park would pay for outdoor stage

Read more: Liverpool Echo http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2013/03/19/land-sell-off-close-to-liverpool-s-sefton-park-would-pay-for-outdoor-stage-100252-33016288/2/#sitelife-commentsWidget-bottom#ixzz2Nymp7znZ

Save Sefton Park Meadows

This blog is to provide information about the campaign to Save Sefton Park Meadows.

Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson is recommending that Liverpool City Council sells off a rare piece of Green land near to Liverpool City Centre to a developer for luxury Housing.

The land known as Sefton Park Meadows comprises of 2 fields bounded by trees adjacent to the end of Queens Drive, Park Avenue,  Mossley Hill Drive and Carnatic Road. See Map and Satellite image.

The plans were announced as an agenda item to be discussed by Liverpool City Council Cabinet on Friday 22nd March 2013. The agenda was published on March 14th. The Cabinet could agree to go ahead with the sale if one of Greenbank Councillors does not call the item in - in which case it will go to the Regeneration Select Committee meeting on 5th April 2013.

Cabinet meeting is here: http://councillors.liverpool.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=1201&MId=12694

And the report is here:
http://councillors.liverpool.gov.uk/documents/s117333/R31%20-%20Land%20at%20Park%20Avenue.pdf
http://councillors.liverpool.gov.uk/documents/s117334/R31%20-%20Appendix%201.pdf

It is important to protest against the sale of this land before it is too late.