A CROSS-PARTY attempt to halt the Local Plan was shot down by Labour councillors.

Liberal Democrat councillor Michael Haw submitted a late amendment to Labour council leader Derek Long’s motion just hours before councillors were due to vote on it at full council last night.

Cllr Long’s motion proposed lobbying the Government for cash to ensure more brownfield land, land that has been previously developed, can be released in the borough.

He said the authority estimates it would cost more than £40 million to make the remaining brownfield land available in the borough fit for development.

The amended motion proposed to suspend the Local Plan process with immediate effect while efforts are made to secure key funding for the remediation of contaminated land.

Cll Haw said: "By releasing this land from the green belt now, the council will be inviting pressure from housebuilders to expedite the development of this easier and more profitable option, which could see the regeneration of our viable brownfield sites kicked further down the road."

However, Cllr Long said the amendment was an attempt to stop the authority having a Local Plan and said it would create an “open door” for developers.

Cllr Long said: “We cannot accept your common proposals – in terms of suspending the plan – because they are inhumane to put people through any further uncertainties about the planning process.

“It’s inept to create uncertainty for business and it is inexcusable to make it easier for developers to build on green belt land while we don’t have a plan.

“We do not have a plan at this moment, we need to have a plan.

"If you vote for this resolution you are voting for developers to build on any form of green belt land across the borough.

“It’s an open door for developers.”

The amendment – which was branded as a complete rewrite by several Labour councillors – also proposed to lobby Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram instead of Government.

“The council sites across St Helens require funding to remediate the land in order for it to be used for development purposes,” Cllr Haw said.

“The Government has drastically cut funds needed to encourage new building on brownfield sites, despite claiming that such sites would be key to solving the housing crisis.

“As there is now no general funding available for the remediation of brownfield sites, other avenues need to be explored.

“Government have been clear that they would prefer not to liaise with local councils on funding, rather, they have instructed that they go via Combined Authorities, which in this instance would be the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) and the Metro-Mayor, Steve Rotheram.”

Cllr Haw’s amendment also called on the council to remove all safeguarded land identified within the ‘Preferred Options’ of the draft Local Plan, with no sites released from the green belt until every available brownfield site has been identified and built upon.

Cllr Allan Jones, Rainford ward councillor and leader of the St Helens Conservatives, backed the amended motion.

He said: “Having read reports from the City Region, it is quite clear they are putting brownfield sites first in their quest.

“Therefore, it is right that the Metro Mayor should be looking to get funding for the whole of our City Region for bringing brownfield sites back into play that have been contaminated.

“There’s a lot of councillor Haw’s amendment but it does spell out the position, quite clearly, so my group will support this amendment.

“But if this amendment does fail we will support the original motion.”

Cllr Long accused Cllr Haw of submitting the amendment for a political purpose with the intention of producing a party leaflet.

He said the reason the council was in this position is because the Tories and Liberal Democrats cut funding for land remediation when they were in a coalition.

Cllr Long said the motion, if successful, would hand over planning to "Whitehall bureaucrats" and expose all borough greenfield land to development.

The West Park councillor told members that two thirds of the borough’s brownfield land was not deliverable in the next five years.

Cllr Long said the estimated £40 million – about £250,000 per hectare – needed exceeds the £30 million yearly budget of the City Region.

The council leader accused Cllr Haw of playing “fantasy politics”.

“Let’s be realists, let’s not be talking fantasy here," Cllr Long said.

"The place where the money lies is in London, not in Liverpool, therefore we need to go to London and speak to the ministers and put pressure on to ensure we get money to continue our brownfield development.

“This is a practical approach to protect our green land and that’s what we’re about as a council.”

Cllr Long said the council will also encourage businesses and residents to come forward with any unrecognised brownfield land they know about.

Deputy council leader Andy Bowden, who seconded the leader’s motion, said the council’s track record shows it is committed to developing brownfield sites, highlighting that 78 per cent of recent housing development in the borough has been developed on brownfield land.

“The Government says that is what it wants to see happen," Cllr Bowden, ward councillor for Parr, said. "They say their policies support this.

“But all words on brownfield development are meaningless if they do not give local authorities or the region the funding to carry out the remediation required to bring those sites back into use.”

The amended motion was lost following a vote, with councillors – including Cllr Haw – voting in favour of Cllr Long’s original motion.