CENTRAL government should fund the remediation of brownfield land in St Helens for its role in the Industrial Revolution, the portfolio holder for housing has said.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), cut its funding for remediating brownfield sites – land that has been previously developed – in 2017 after years of reductions.

Industrial areas such as St Helens has been the worst affected by the cut, according to Andy Bowden, St Helens Council cabinet member for balanced development, housing and economic opportunity.

The deputy council leader said government has a “debt” to repay areas that “created the wealth of this country”.

Cllr Bowden said: “I would argue that government owes it to those communities, that it has to pay back that debt it owes and help remediate those contaminated sites.

“This government has chosen not to do that, making it more difficult to do that and more difficult to deliver regeneration and redevelopment sites.

“We’re still working hard to do that, and we’re still working hard to attract developers and encouraging developers to do that, but central government tied our hands behind our back through the actions they took.”

Back in May council leader Derek Long reiterated his intention to oversee a “brownfield first” approach to development as part of a balanced Local Plan.

But last month he wrote to James Brokenshire, secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, seeking clarification on conflicting housing data.

The council had been working towards a government set target of 504 new homes per year, part of a national 300,000 homes per year target.

However, new data on household projections released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) using a different methodology implied a housing need per annum in St Helens of 383.

Cllr Bowden said the government was “failing” to deliver on its housing targets and has “perversely” come with a methodology that will also fail to deliver.

In his letter to the secretary of state, Cllr Long said the uncertainty over the key data made it “difficult, if not impossible” to produce a Local Plan robust enough to legal challenge.

The next version of the Local Plan had previously been delayed and was expected to be published in the autumn.

It is now unclear when the document will be published following the latest setback.

Cllr Bowden said: “The difficulty with moving it forward has come from central government’s continual shifting of the goalposts regarding the methodology and subsequent housing figures they want us to deliver.

“It is frustrating for us as a council, who are required to produce a plan by national government, and it is clearly a frustration for our communities in that it extends the uncertainty about what is happening.”

Cllr Bowden revealed the council has been informed that the ONS will publish revised housing figures in early December.

But he accused the government of sending “mixed messages” after claiming ministers have told the council of plans to produce a consultation on the methodology used to produce the housing figures.

“That is not clarity,” Cllr Bowden said. “So, we’re receiving mixed messages on this.

“That does not help ourselves and other local authorities who are required to produce these plans.

“That said, we are committed to delivering housing.

“We are committed to our brownfield first approach and we recognise that our community does need more housing.”