A COUNCILLOR has welcomed the withdrawal of a plans for 199 new homes to be built in Prescot which he says were not of sufficient standard.

The proposal was for the development take place on land next to Whitakers Garden Centre, off Liverpool Road.

However, following discussions with Knowsley Council, the application has been withdrawn and will not be submitted for consideration at the planning committee on July 21.

Cllr Mike Murphy, Knowsley Council’s regeneration and economic development cabinet member, said: “I’m pleased that the applicant has taken on board our comments and concerns and withdrawn this application.

“I expressed strong objections about various aspects of this application and I made my views absolutely clear at last month’s council meeting.

“I raised serious concerns that the proposal fails to provide the high quality comprehensive development we are looking for in the borough."

He added: “In particular, the proposals would have resulted in an overdevelopment of the site and the layout of the proposed scheme was extremely poor.

"The application failed to take account of the fact that the site forms the approach to the historic conservation area of Prescot and the site access arrangements caused me concerns about highway safety. They also failed to comply with current highways guidance.

"The provision of public open space and mitigation of the impact on the environment also fell short of my expectations."

Cllr Murphy added: “Although the council has agreed that this and other land should be made available for development in the future, that doesn’t mean that applications will automatically be approved.

"We have made our position absolutely clear that we are only interested in high quality developments which enhance our borough and bring real benefits to our residents and people who wish to live here.”