'The south of England's problems should not affect St Helens' says action group

The Prime Minister Theresa May made a speech earlier this month in which she cited the country's "housing crisis" saying it has "failed to build enough of the right homes in the right places".

Housing has been a hot topic on the borough's political agenda since the initial draft of the Local Plan which made reference to releasing parts of the green belt for development.

However the Rainford Action Group, which has been a firm critic of such plans, says that problems affecting "other parts of the country" should not affect St Helens where it says those problems "don't exist".

James Wright, chair of Rainford Action Group, called for greater recognition of "local differences".

He said: "Much of the debate about housing in this country is seen through the prism of what is happening in parts of the country, such as London, where there is a significant shortage of housing.

"That is simply not the case in St Helens. The solutions to problems in the south of England should not be applied in St Helens where those same problems simply don't exist. There needs to be more recognition of local differences.

"We live in a borough where home ownership is above the regional and national average, where there are 2,800 unused houses, and, as of last year, work had not started on 1,800 homes granted planning permission.

"Most importantly, the population of St Helens has fallen for more than 30 years and there is no reliable evidence that long-term trend will change.

Mr Wright added: "St Helens needs lots of things to make it better. But it doesn't need houses built on the green belt.

Building on brownfield land alone would provide the borough with 5,800 new homes - that's more than adequate to meet demand in St Helens.

"What we would like to see from the government is a stronger role for local communities in planning matters.

"And we would like to see a genuine commitment to brown field first development nationally and locally."