A GROUP of villagers have joined together to raise awareness of proposals that could see land released from the green belt to pave the way for 1000 new houses.  

St Helens Council's Local Plan, which is open to consultation, suggests releasing land so developers could seek permission to build 1,140 houses in Rainford.

Opponents say it would increase the size of the village by a third. 

The Rainford Action Group formed over the last month to make sure residents know about the plans, which are contained within the council’s plans to increase economic growth and achieve housebuilding targets.

The group is encouraging people to take part in the consultation process, which ends on January 30.

Senior councillors fear the town risks falling behind neighbouring cities and areas if it does not make itself attractive for developers.

And a council report states that the borough does not have a five-year housing supply, meaning its policies relating to housing are out-of-date and not consistent with national planning policy.

The report states that the council does not have a five-year housing supply, meaning its policies relating to housing are out-of-date and not consistent with national planning policy.

The report, which outlines the possibility of building 4,000 homes over 15 years at 16 sites, adds: "There are insufficient suitable brownfield sites to accommodate our housing and employment needs now or for the new plan period of 2018 to 2033. Therefore it is necessary to release greenfield sites for development, including in the green belt."

According to the report, St Helens currently has 8,844 hectares of green belt, which makes up 65 per cent of the borough - the revised green belt would cover 56 per cent of the borough.

Neighbouring boroughs have less green belt land than St Helens, with Sefton having 51.4 per cent, Knowsley 48.7 per cent, Wirral 46.6 per cent and Liverpool 4.7 per cent.

The report adds: "St Helens has been very successful in the past at directing development to brownfield land, but it was inevitable that at some point that land supply was going to reduce and therefore the council would have to consider green belt release, especially given the significant amount of green belt in the borough."

However, there has been significant opposition to the proposals.

Rainford residents are the latest to voice concerns over the strategy, with communities in Eccleston and Haydock having already formed Save Our Green Belt campaigns.

Since the Rainford group formed, it has questioned why there is "no plan to cope with the inevitable impact on Rainford’s roads, schools or surgeries". 

It queries why the number of houses in Rainford would increase by more than 30per cent even though the population of St Helens as a whole is only due to grow by 3.8%. 

James Wright, who lives in Rainford with his young family, is chair of Rainford Action Group.

He said: “We believe the Draft Local Plan in its current form is unworkable, unreasonable and unnecessary.

“We’re a group of residents working in our own time to make sure everyone in Rainford knows about these plans and has their say during the consultation period.

“We want people to understand the scale of what is being proposed and the impact it will have on the village.” 

 Before Christmas, nearly 100 people attended the first meeting of the Rainford Action Group. A second meeting will be held on January 15 at Rainford Village Hall at 7.45pm. 

The group delivered more than 3,000 leaflets to homes in Rainford over the Christmas period. 

The group plans to work with - and support - groups that have formed in other areas of St Helens in opposition to St Helens Council’s controversial Draft Local Plan. 

James Wright said: “The council says there is insufficient brown field land available but we believe this is a blatant green belt grab and makes a mockery of the council’s pledge to build on brown field sites first. 

“How can there be insufficient brown field land in a place like St Helens which has lots of brown field land from its industrial past?

"Those sites might not be as easy to develop as green field sites but that’s not an excuse to bulldoze the countryside. 

“In the next few weeks, we'll be working hard to make sure the council appreciates the level of opposition to their plans in Rainford, and across the rest of the borough.”

However, Councillor John Fulham, St Helens’ cabinet member for growth, says unless these developments take place, the borough risks falling behind surrounding towns and cities.

He said there is currently insufficient land allocated for the developers and investors who are expressing interests in “taking advantage of St Helens’ location at the heart of the north west”.

According to a draft local plan, the move to develop on green belt has come about to enable the housing and employment land targets to be met in full over between 2018 and 2033.

Land would also be removed from green belt and safeguarded to meet housing and employment development needs for the following 15 years - 2033 to 2048.

Speaking last year, Cllr Fulham told the Star: “Warrington, Liverpool and Manchester have been transformed over the past 15 years and, with the significant appetite to invest from the private sector, it is now St Helens’ turn to capitalise and capture the growth that has been going on around us.

“If our proposals are approved, over half of the borough - 56 per cent - will remain green belt.

"This is the first time that green belt land has been released in St Helens, and now is the time. If we do not capture and shape the growth open to us then the investment, jobs and homes will go elsewhere and in these volatile times that’s not a price worth paying.”

To take part in the consultation, use the response form to send comments to the development plans team by post, email or hand by noon on Monday, January 30, 2017.

Copies of the form can be downloaded at sthelens.gov.uk/localplan. Hard copies will soon be available at the town hall reception and libraries.