Proposed housing development on former nightclub land faces widespread opposition

A proposal for a 23-residence development on the former site of a nightclub has drawn objections from hundreds of individuals, who have raised concerns regarding local wildlife and environmental impact. Campaigners in the area have described the green space adjacent to the former Shorrocks Hill leisure facility in Formby as a location of “peace and tranquillity”. Broadgrove Planning and Development Limited (BPDL) submitted the proposal to Sefton Council, which additionally features a public car park with 100 spaces. The developer stated its commitment to ensuring the safety of red squirrels, badgers, and hedgehogs present on the site, and to supplying bat boxes as required. This location has been a source of contention since 2016, when a previous proposal for 60 residences also met with opposition from local residents who launched a petition, leading to the eventual abandonment of that scheme. BPDL asserted that the current plans offer “significant benefits” designed to “greatly outweigh any perceived harm” and expressed its dedication to maintaining ongoing communication with local residents. Yvonne Irving, aged 83, has emerged as a prominent leader in the campaign opposing the Shorrocks Hill development. She commented that such a development became unavoidable after the land’s classification shifted from designated greenbelt to a brownfield site nearly a decade prior. “It’s beautiful here and is home to so much amazing wildlife and natural beauty,” Ms Irving stated. She added, “If this development goes ahead, it could well destroy all these amazing habitats and so hundreds of people from Formby have written in objecting to it.” In conjunction with the planning application, BPDL conducted an analysis of the potential effects of the proposed development on the local wildlife and tree population. The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported an acknowledgment that even the dead trees on the site and the roof areas of the abandoned structures might serve as potential nesting sites for bats, though no evidence of an existing local population has been discovered to date. BPDL pledged to offer alternative accommodations, including bat boxes positioned around the site, to support any potential bat population now or in the future. Requests for comment were made to the applicants behind the Shorrocks Hill development.