Plans for major changes to a car park at Formby beach are set to be approved.
The proposals, submitted to Sefton Council by the National Trust, involve relocating the existing car park on Formby beach to an area further inland near woodland dunes. The current location of the car park is in a special area of conservation and its removal will allow sand dunes to reform in the area, according to a planning officer’s report due to be discussed at a meeting of the borough’s planning committee next week.
The report adds that the extent of the new car park, to be constructed closer to Victoria Road, is currently unclear and will depend on the amount of rubble removed from the existing site but is likely to be no more than 237 spaces.
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Several objections have been lodged against the plans. Neighbouring Formby Golf Club has expressed concerns about potential noise and dust during construction and once the car park is operational, saying it was “disappointed” the National Trust had not consulted the golf club about the plans.
Residents also expressed concerns at plans to remove trees from the wooded dune area to create the new car park and citing the potential impact this could have on the area’s rare red squirrel population.
People have also said they fear increased traffic along Victoria Road as a result of the proposals and querying why a Park and Ride scheme had not been considered instead.
Objections were also raised over vehicle access to Freshfields caravan site with sits near the site.
Planning officers said that while the proposed car park would be on greenbelt land, it would not have a “detrimental impact”, citing screening that would be provided by surrounding woodland and stating the encroachment on greenbelt would be “balanced” by the removal of the existing dune car park.
The relocated car park would be “in effect temporary” according to the planning report, be designed to “ensure there will be no impacts on the underlying dune topography and seedbank” and allow for future restoration of the site once the car park is removed in the future.
Addressing concerns about the red squirrels, the report states the trees to be removed to make way for the new car park are of a type less suitable for the squirrels and thus resulting in no significant loss of habitat for the red squirrel population.
In order to address the potential additional traffic problems on Victoria Road, which can get very congested during the busy summer months, a car park management plan was recommended as a condition for planning permission being granted with signs to be placed on Formby Bypass to alert people to car park capacity.
Over 560 trees would be felled to build the new car park, with the applicant stating it could replace the trees on a one to one ratio to ensure no tree loss overall.
However the report states this would not be a feasible option as the habitat been removed was “irreplaceable” although the loss would be balanced out by the wider ecological benefit of moving the existing car park.
In reference to the concerns raised by Formby Golf Club, officers said that once the car park was operational, it is not expected to cause any noise or dust nuisance but that a mitigation plan would be needed for the construction phase.
The report added that concerns around access to the Freshfields caravan site, including around the build up of sand in front of the site, were outside the planning process as there were no changes proposed as part of the application.
Officers recommended approving the plans, which will go to members of the planning committee when it meets at Bootle Town Hall next Wednesday June 28 for councillors to decide whether to approve or reject the plans.
