The stalemate between Sefton Council and a developer building hundreds of new homes in the borough continues.
Persimmon Homes is working on Summerhill Park, off Poverty Lane in Maghull, with Countryside delivering Eastbrook Village on an adjacent stretch of land. Combined, the two schemes will bring more than 800 new homes to the area.
Last month (July 2022) the ECHO reported that work remained temporarily halted on the Persimmon site after the builder failed to supply the necessary details of the proposed construction route to Sefton Council. At the time, a Persimmon spokesperson confirmed a one way system had been agreed with the local authority "in order to avoid construction traffic through the immediate surrounding area".
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The stand-off has now deepened, with Sefton Council calling a stop to all highways works. A spokesperson for the local authority told the ECHO: "After finding that the correct traffic management measures had not been put in place on what is a busy stretch of Sefton highway, the council has instructed the contractor to cease all highways works, which they have complied with."
The ECHO spoke to Maghull residents about the impact of the works. A resident of Poverty Lane said: "There have been vehicles coming up here when they shouldn't be coming up here. Dust has been blowing across and generally people are not very happy. More houses will lead to a greater strain on services. It was farmland, which is a pity.
"There are some people who were so upset about the development that they moved."
Another resident on Orchard Hey said they were dreading a return to the school run as it is currently 'murder'. They said: "It's really, really bad. It's annoying they're building all these houses, we've got no infrastructure. I suppose they have to build somewhere but they're just taking up more and more of the green land."
Deborah, 59, who moved into her house on Poverty Lane in September 2021, told the ECHO: "I know the lorries aren't allowed to go up here, but of a night when I'm in bed I can hear them."
She thinks the impact of more homes in the area will be "awful" when it comes to traffic. She said: "People are going to parking in this slip road to go to the train station. It's always packed to get a place at Maghull [park and ride] so they're going to be parking here."
A Persimmon Homes North West spokesperson said: "The Summerhill Park development being developed jointly by Persimmon Homes and Countryside will initially deliver over 430 much needed new homes for Sefton.
"Discussions with Sefton Borough Council are ongoing to finalise agreed construction traffic routes and associated signage to progress this exciting development."
Persimmon completed the acquisition of the land for Summerhill in April 2022. It forms part of a wider new community to the east of Maghull, which also includes its Poppy Fields scheme, and Countryside's Eastbrook Village.
A Countryside spokesperson said: "Countryside continues to work closely with Sefton Council to ensure any pre commencement issues are addressed before we go on site. Whilst we were not involved in the street works in question, we will work with all partners to resolve the issue as a matter of urgency, so that we can begin creating this vibrant community in Maghull."
A new service station off the M58 in Maghull, which includes the likes of Starbucks and KFC, opened over the weekend.
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