Your Green Belt is Under Threat!

**Open Meeting 7.30pm, Wednesday 19 September at Heswall Hall**

Come along to find out more, and what you can do to help protect our Green Belt.  Click Here for further details.
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​Wirral Borough Council believes that areas of Green Belt will need to be released for building in order for it to comply with government targets for future provision of new homes in its Local Plan for Wirral (see below).  Further information on this can be obtained by clicking on this link to the Council’s website.

The Council’s review of Green Belt opens at the beginning of September. 
 
As you will read, this is a very serious potential threat to parts of Wirral’s Green Belt, including the following areas in and around Heswall:
  • East and West of Pipers Lane
  • West of Barnston Village
  • North of Whitehouse Lane
  • Land at Chester Road, Gayton
  • Boathouse lane, Gayton

Please click here for important information on what action Heswall Society is taking and how the Society can assist those of you who share its concerns to protect our Green Belt.
 
The more people who we can get to challenge these proposals the better chance we have of getting the Council to reconsider.

Police Station Update​
​*Update*

Some time ago, the Society was alerted to the fact that the Heswall Police Station was being put up for sale by the Police and Crime Commissioner. As this is one of the few distinctive buildings in Heswall, designed by the respected architect Harry Beswick, it was decided that as soon as the building became under threat, the Society would apply for it to be listed.


Earlier this year the building was put up for sale with the option for the whole site (ie building plus car park) to be redeveloped. In consequence the Society submitted an application to Historic England for the building to be listed. The initial response from Historic England was not encouraging and therefore we commissioned an historic building consultant to prepare a report to strengthen our application. This additional information was then sent to Historic England for their additional consideration.


It was with great disappointment that we have recently received word from Historic England that our application has not been successful. While they confirm that the building has high local interest, they do not consider it of sufficient national importance. We have discussed this decision with our consultants and they have advised us that it is not worthwhile challenging this decision.
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The only option now left to the Society to protect the police station is to contact the Police and Crime Commissioner and stress the local importance of maintaining the exterior of this building for the future rather than accepting an offer for the redevelopment of the total site which could well be financially more advantageous. The temptation to accept the most lucrative offer will be great however. Hence the building’s fate depends on a difficult decision that the Police and Crime Commissioner is likely to have to make between maximising the return of the sale against maintaining a building of historic local importance and thereby respecting the wishes of a large proportion of the residents of Heswall.
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'Best Places to Live 2018'

'The great countryside and lively, friendly community make this fertile territory for the active downsizer and families'

​This is just part of how The Sunday Times describes Heswall, listing it fourth in the North West in its 'Best Places to Live 2018' survey.

​To access the survey, Click here. 

Wirral Wildfowlers Walk​

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​Huge thanks to Ranger Mike Taylor, and members of Dee Wildfowlers, for treating members of the Heswall Society  to a wonderful yet rigorous evening striding out over the marshes from Burton to as close as we could get to the main channel and back again, crossing many gutters along the way.  Definitely a job for the wellies!

Donations were in aid of  Flint RNLI station to help support the essential work they do along the coastline.

Local Plan for Wirral

 PROGRESS to develop a new Local Plan for Wirral is set to step up a gear as the Council confirms a public consultation to launch later this summer.   This follows a letter from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government expressing concern at the Council’s failure to make progress on plan-making and stating that the Secretary of State would continue the intervention process which had been started.
 
The Local Plan is the statutory document which guides where housing and other developments can be built in an area.
 
In July, the Council’s cabinet will meet to launch an extensive public consultation on the content of Wirral’s Local Plan, which will include a review of Green Belt land in the borough.
 
Chief Executive of Wirral Council, Eric Robinson, has said: “We have housing targets which must be met, and we are legally obliged to run this Green Belt review. The Local Plan is a statutory, government-mandated process which every area in the country has either done or in the process of doing."
 
The Heswall Society has already put its views to the Council on earlier documents and will be carefully considering the new Local Plan when it is published for consultation (expected in August) and will make its views known to the Council.

​For further information on the work that the Society undertakes on Planning, including making representations concerning planning applications, please go to the Planning Section.​

Heswall Guided Historic Walk

Two dates have been set aside for a guided walk, organised by Heswall Society in conjunction with Wirral History and Heritage Association, that will link the Victorian Heswall Top Village to the much older Lower Village through both formal and wild green spaces, with opportunities to admire magnificent views over the Dee Estuary. Hear about the history of many old buildings, many now long vanished, and the people who lived in them.  Click on Events for further details.
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Join Us!

​The Heswall Society is the local amenity society for Heswall and Gayton, formed just over 60 years ago by some far-sighted residents.  For more information, click here.
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New members who share our aim to retain the quality of Heswall and Gayton, without opposing sensitive change, are very welcome. If you would like to join The Heswall Society please click on the red button below.

Newsletter

The Autumn 2018 Newsletter is now available for Members within the Members Area.

Kiosk Adopted - Hooray!

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The Society has now formally adopted the Lower Village telephone kiosk under BT's 'Adopt a Kiosk' scheme, having at last completed all the legal formalities.

​With support from the local community, the Society has adopted the kiosk in order to ensure that the street scene is preserved. 

Thanks again to Heswall Today and to Caroline in the Village Shop for publicising the Society's efforts to retain the kiosk, and helping to raise funds.  Thanks also to those who have very kindly donated.  The money received enables the Society to carry out essential repairs and refurbishment works which will be starting very shortly.   Plans for a formal opening ceremony will be announced in due course.  ​
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Trees
​The Society now receives notification of all applications for surgery or felling of trees that are subject to Tree Preservation Orders or are within our Conservation Areas.

Brownfield and Green Belt Policy

​Wirral Council is consulting on the sites which it proposes to include in its Statutory Register of Brownfield Land and on the Methodology for an initial Green Belt Review.  The Society has formally written to the Council setting its comments on both, copies of which can be accessed within the Members Area.

Friends of Hill House Park and Garden

​For a Potted History of Hill House and the park as well as information on the work undertaken by the Friends, how you can help and/or join them, Click here to see their latest Spring 2018 Newsletter.

Save Dawstone Park​

The Heswall Society continues to support the active Friends of Dawstone Park Group.​  Click here for further details.
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Friends of Heswall Dales
*Open Day 15 September 2018*

The Friends of Heswall Dales, in conjunction with the Ranger, will be holding an open day event on Saturday 15th September between 11.00 am and 3.00 pm.  The theme is ‘The Treasures of the Dales’, and volunteers will be on hand to point out some of the features of this beautiful local nature reserve with its rich flora and fauna, as well as stunning views over the Dee Estuary. 

Click here for further details, or visit the Friends’ website, at http://www.heswalldalesfriends.co.uk. 

​For the latest news on what has been happening in the Dales, click here for the Summer 2018 Newsletter.​​

The Church of the Good Shepherd​

The Parish of Heswall kindly invited members of Heswall Society to attend a short and informative presentation and question time in order to explain and illustrate its developing plans to replace the existing Good Shepherd building and Parish Hall with a new church and community hall.  Information on this including a short video can be found on the Parish of Heswall website.

If you would like to help protect and enhance the unique character of Heswall please consider joining The Society.

​GDPR

The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a new EU law that came into effect on 25 May 2018 to replace the current Data Protection Act. It’s the biggest overhaul of data protection legislation for over 25 years and will introduce new requirements for how organisations process personal data. 
 
To support this upcoming change to the European data protection law, The Heswall Society has updated its Privacy Notice to explain how we collect, store and handle your personal data.

Please click on the Society's Privacy Notice if you are interested to further understand how your data is collected and used by the Society.
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Did you know that this logo was developed from a design by a pupil of Heswall Primary School in 1996?


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The Heswall Society is involved in local environmental issues and consulted by the Council on Conservation Areas. The Heswall Society review every planning application. We are the only residents' body which encourages the best designs of houses, retail and commercial properties in order to maintain the character and distinguishing features of Heswall. We are a local amenity society and our site contains local history, Heswall photographs, planning information, conservation area details, Heswall Society history, listed buildings and Friends of Heswall Open Spaces