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HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY
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| 1 |
Halton Borough comprises the towns of Widnes
and Runcorn and surrounding villages of Hale, Daresbury, Moore, Preston
Brook and Preston on the Hill. It is a predominately urban area with
a population of 118,208 (2001 Census). The Borough straddles the River
Mersey's Upper Estuary, part of which is an area of international
nature conservation importance. The urban area forms part of the 'Mersey
Belt' between Liverpool and Manchester. |
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Widnes developed during the 19th Century
around the pioneering early chemical industry. Although chemical manufacturing
remains important, the economy has now diversified into a broad range
of other manufacturing and service industries. Unfortunately, the
legacy of the early chemical industry, which is a powerful example
of unsustainable development, has left the Borough with a problem
of derelict and contaminated land, which limits the scope for its
re-development and regeneration through 'brownfield' development.
This legacy has however, provided an opportunity for the creation
of major new recreation uses on reclaimed land including a golf course
and riverside parks and the successful expansion of Widnes Town Centre. |
| 3 |
Runcorn developed as a canal port during
the 19th Century and associated ship-building, tanneries, soapworks
and chemical industries were developed. It is now home to one of the
UK's larger chemical manufacturing complexes and a number of successful
modern business and office parks. |
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Runcorn experienced rapid growth in the
1960's and early 1970's following its designation as a New Town in
1964. During this time innovative public transport, shopping facilities
and housing layouts were developed. Some of this infrastructure must
now be renewed and adapted to meet future housing, shopping and business
needs although the unique dedicated busway is well suited to meet
the need for integrated transport and the need to reduce car usage. |
| 5 |
The surrounding villages of Hale, Moore,
Daresbury, Preston Brook and Preston on the Hill are set in attractive
countryside, much of which in high grade agricultural land. The area
is protected by Green Belt policy and ensures separation from surrounding
towns. |
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The Borough is well served by rail and
motorway links. The M62 lies to the north and the M56 to the south.
These are linked through the Borough by new roads and an impressive
yet congested bridge over the Mersey (the Silver Jubilee Bridge),
listed for its architectural importance. |
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Runcorn has a main line railway station
with direct inter-city links with Liverpool, Birmingham and London
and local links with North Wales, Chester and Manchester. Widnes is
on the main Liverpool - Manchester line. |
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Halton's social and economic fortunes are
closely linked with surrounding areas within the North West of England.
It is: |
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- at the hub of the North West's motorway network;
- almost equidistant between the region's two major conurbations;
- within twenty minutes driving time of the region's two major
airports;
- within thirty minutes of the region's major seaport connections
on Merseyside;
- and at the centre of a market of over 7 million people.
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SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC
CHARACTERISTICS |
| 1 |
The quality of life for many of Halton's
residents is below average when measured against many social and economic
indicators. Despite the considerable investment in Runcorn during
the 1960's and 70's when it was developed as a New Town and considerable
success in Widnes in reclaiming derelict land in the 1970's and 1980's,
the area has not enjoyed the levels of investment and prosperity that
have benefited other areas of the UK in recent decades. This has resulted
in higher levels of social deprivation and unemployment than elsewhere.
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The following material drawn from the "State
of the Borough Report" by Halton Borough Council November 2000, illustrate
this situation. |
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POPULATION CHANGE |
| 1 |
Halton's population is declining from a
peak of 124,900 in 1991 to 118,208 according to the 2001 Census. It
is projected to fall to 114,600 by 2010. Most significantly it appears
to be the younger, more employable/mobile people of working age (16
- 44) who are leaving. The proportion of older people is increasing
(over 75s up 12.2% by 2011) as the 'New Town' effect works its way
through. The 5- 10 and 11 -15 year age groups are expected to fall
by 14.8% and 17.8% respectively by 2011. |
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GENERAL DEPRIVATION
AND NEIGHBOURHOOD RENEWAL |
| 1 |
The latest, improved Government Index ranks
Halton as the 18th overall most deprived local authority area in England
and Wales, with residents facing the complex, inter-linked problems
of widespread poverty, and social exclusion. |
| 2 |
Within this picture of general deprivation,
the 'Index' shows Halton ranking particularly poorly on health and
a cluster of poverty-related indicators. |
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THE ECONOMY, INCOME
AND EMPLOYMENT |
| 1 |
8 of Halton's 21 wards rank in the lowest
10% nationally in terms of income and child poverty. 10 Halton wards
rank in the lowest 10% for employment. Unemployment amongst the under
25s (at 33.6% of total unemployment the 2nd highest in England and
Wales) is a particular concern. Despite these rankings, Halton experienced
the greatest improvement in the North West in the 12 months to July
2000. Halton residents, however, do not seem to be sharing fully in
the wealth being generated locally. Maintaining a good mix of quality
employment opportunities remains an important issue. |
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PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT,
SKILLS AND TRAINING |
| 1 |
On a number of measures that are closely
linked to life chances and opportunities for local people, Halton
performs creditably to similar authorities but still falls below the
national averages. In primary schools pupils are improving in literacy
and numeracy faster than the national rate. In secondary schools 38%
of pupils gained 5 or more GCSE passes at A* - C in summer 2000 compared
to the national average of 48%. |
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The local workforce generally also has
a low skills base/qualifications and, broadly speaking, experiences
difficulty in securing/helping attract better quality and more highly
paid jobs. For a variety of reasons, Halton people are not achieving
their best, and aspirations and prospects seem correspondingly low.
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HEALTH |
| 1 |
Halton has a very poor health position.
Poor health and poverty/deprivation are closely linked. Halton has
the 2nd worst 'all causes, all ages Standardised Mortality Ratio'
(SMR) - basically how likely you are to die - amongst 354 local authority
areas in England and Wales. It has the worst infant mortality and
all cancer SMRs. 15 Halton wards are in the worst 10% nationally.
Considerable scope exists for Council services to impact on causes
of ill-health in the Borough. |
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COMMUNITY SAFETY |
| 1 |
Recorded crime in Halton is low by national
standards. Crime/community safety is, however, the top concern for
the public - mentioned by 4 out of 5 survey respondents as one of
the three most important quality of life factors, and by 60% as one
of the three biggest problems for Halton. 'Nuisance Youths' is the
category of incident most frequently reported to the Police (16% of
total). While crime is said to be considerably under-reported, there
is no objective evidence available to indicate that this is greater
in Halton than other comparable areas. |
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ENVIRONMENT -
DERELICTION AND CONTAMINATION |
| 1 |
Environment/pollution was 2nd highest ranked
problem in the Borough by residents. This is a broad area and further
analysis is needed. Issues such as pollution and protection of green
belt/open space were seen as important, with the Council influential
as a policy-maker and regulator. Halton's history, however, has left
an exceptional legacy of dereliction and contaminated land that is
beyond the means of the Council alone to resolve. Highly visible areas
remain blighted that might otherwise be prime sites for regeneration
and redevelopment that could help lift the image of the Borough. |
| 2 |
All these problems are being addressed
on a broad front by the new Unitary Authority of Halton Borough, and
the Unitary Development Plan (UDP) must play a full part in the regeneration
and economic development of the Borough. |
| 3 |
The potential of Halton for social and
economic regeneration in the future is good, given its locational
advantages and environmental assets. Part of the role of the UDP will
be to help to realise this potential but unlike the early chemical
industry of the last century, without cost to future generations. |
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PLANNING PROBLEMS
AND ISSUES |
| 1 |
The history, geography, economy and social
make up of Halton all contribute to the problems and issues that have
been identified and which are capable of being tackled through the
implementation of the Unitary Development Plan. |
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Of particular significance for land use
planning is the legacy of the chemical industry in Halton that has
left very large areas of land so badly contaminated that they are
neither suitable nor commercially viable for development. Much of
this land is either in the form of chemical waste tips or in use for
low value industrial uses such as open storage and scrap yards. This
legacy presents a major disincentive for development in the Borough
and makes it impossible to meet Government policy objectives for most
new development to take place on previously used land. This is because
the location, unsuitability and costs of such sites in Halton are
far worse than is normal of a typical urban area. This peculiar situation
in Halton therefore has to be taken into account when evaluating the
Plan against national planning policy. |
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Those problems and issues have been described
in a series of issues reports published by the Council and summarised
in a Key Issues Report. The reports are as follows: |
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- Examination in Public Issues Report (Issues arising from the
Panel Report on the Cheshire Replacement Structure Plan, Cheshire
2011)
- Strategic Options Issues Report
- Transport Issues Report
- Regeneration Issues Report
- Retail Issues Study
- Greenspace and Nature Conservation Issues Report
- Minerals and Waste Issues Report
- Halton Urban Capacity Study
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Since the publication of the Key Issues
Report another study has been completed. This is the 'Halton Housing
Requirements Study'. This examines the likely future amount of housing
growth, where it should take place and the sizes and types of housing
that should be provided. |
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Taken together, these documents contain
a full description of the planning problems and issues facing Halton.
They also contain policy options on how many of them could be tackled.
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Many of the problems and issues are common
across most planning authorities in Britain, but there are some particular
local circumstances in Halton that present a particular challenge.
These are: |
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POPULATION DECLINE |
| 1 |
According to the 1996 based ONS population
projections produced for Halton the population of the Borough is projected
to fall, if present trends continue, from 124.9 thousand at the time
of the 1991 census to 109.5 thousand in 2021. In contrast Halton's
total population remained fairly stable between the 1981 and 1991
census with only a small fall of 0.4 per cent. Its stable population
during that period can mainly be attributed to the natural increase
of its rather young population. Halton, however has not been immune
from population loss during the inter-census period. This has been
due to high rates of net out-migration which are closer to rates in
deprived Merseyside. As the former high birth-rate is likely to fall
in the future then continued high rates of net out-migration will
result in a steady fall in population. |
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The consequences of continued net out-migration
and population decline on the local economy will increase levels of
deprivation and increase the concentration of disadvantaged people
who have a greater need for social and welfare support. |
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Despite the projected population decline
there is still a demand for new dwellings because the number of people
per dwelling continues to fall due to social factors leading to a
greater number of single person households for example. |
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CONTAMINATED LAND |
| 1 |
The large area and extent of land contaminated
by the past chemical industries of the Borough, particularly in Widnes
but also in older areas of Runcorn, imposes a strong constraint to
development. Much of this land comprises of chemical fill and contains
potentially dangerous and hazardous substances. It is extremely costly
to reclaim for beneficial use. |
| 2 |
Local surveys indicate that there are still
190 hectares of derelict land in Halton and it is estimated that 75%
of this land is economically and environmentally beyond reclamation
for a hard end use. Since 1974 Halton Borough Council has been instrumental
in bringing back into use 180 hectares of derelict and contaminated
land. Of this the majority (71%) is so badly contaminated that it
is only suitable for a green end use. Of the 51 hectares reclaimed
for a hard end use, 32 hectares (63%) is still vacant and undeveloped
despite extensive marketing. |
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This shows that even after reclamation
the majority of derelict land in Halton is only suitable for green
after uses. The land that is reclaimed for hard end uses often remains
undeveloped because of low land values and other constraints. |
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The public expectation, that new development
in Halton can be accommodated on 'brownfield land' is clearly not
possible without major public subsidy on a far greater scale than
has been available in the past and even then there would be no guarantee
that development would take place. |
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This is bound to put more pressure on greenfield
sites particularly for much needed employment development. |
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MAJOR ACCIDENTAL
RISK INSTALLATIONS |
| 1 |
Some of the existing chemical industry
in the Borough use toxic or dangerous chemicals that are potentially
hazardous if accidentally released. These chemical plants are a major
source of local employment and prosperity, but storage of these chemicals
could have a blighting effect on certain kinds of development in the
vicinity and impose slightly increased risk levels for nearby residents.
A balance needs to be struck between society's concerns about safety
standards, the blighting effect on development and the economic future
of Halton's important chemical industry. |
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THE MERSEY ESTUARY
AND BRIDGE CROSSINGS |
| 1 |
The upper part of the Mersey Estuary runs
right through the Borough, the wider western part of which is designated
for special protection for its nature conservation importance. The
Estuary is both a major asset and a major problem for the Borough.
The scope for waterfront development and recreation has yet to be
fully realised and could help regenerate the Borough, benefiting its
poorest areas and most degraded environment. This potential benefit
is countered by the major barrier that the Estuary causes to transport
between Runcorn and Widnes and other parts of the sub region. The
congestion on the existing single road crossing is a major constraint
to the economic development of the area and to social and economic
interaction within the Borough. |
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There is therefore a pressing need for
a second bridge crossing of the Mersey within Halton built as part
of an integrated transport plan. There are also unrealised opportunities
for waterside development. Implementation of these developments, whilst
protecting and enhancing the nature conservation value of the Estuary
are major issues for the UDP to resolve. |
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THE CHALLENGES |
| 1 |
One of the greatest challenges for the
UDP and other Council strategies is to implement policies and proposals
that will reverse population decline through an holistic approach
to economic, social and environmental regeneration. The success of
this will depend in large part on an increase in investment confidence
in the Borough and Region as a whole. |
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However these particular local circumstances
of population decline, contaminated land, major accidental risk installations
and a congested bridge crossing of the Mersey combine to create a
lower level of investment confidence than should occur given the Borough's
locational advantages. |
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The Unitary Development Plan can play a
part in helping to generate increased investment confidence by allocating
suitable sites for development of housing and growth industries in
locations where these constraints are not significant and through
supporting and encouraging regeneration development on brownfield
and underused sites where feasible. |
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In view of the above local circumstances,
national and regional planning policies must therefore be tailored
to these circumstances by the UDP if its aims are to be fulfilled. |
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