A demonstration project shows how potential benefits of the urban fringe in St Helens can be addressed in the local planning process.

St Helens Urban Fringe Action Plan

A project to show how the local planning system could be used to promote greater benefits from the urban fringe areas is taking place in St Helens. The work involves mapping the ten functions identified our vision for the countryside around towns to show how St Helens urban fringe is currently used and could in the future be better used.

The end results of the project will help inform planning policies in St Helens' Local Development Framework.  The work will provide an example which other local authorities will be able to use to inform their own development planning processes.  

So far a database of relevant documents, plans and strategies has been compiled as a background source of baseline information.  Priorities identified in the Community Strategy have been used to think about how the ten functions, identified in our vision for countryside around towns, could be applied in St Helens.  A GIS map has been produced to show both where activities currently take place and where the greatest potential for increasing activity may be in future.  The last element of the work is a needs and opportunities report, with recommendations on priorities for action.  

The project is being carried out by the Mersey Forest, with a partner steering group drawn from Natural England, St Helens council, Groundwork St Helens and University of Liverpool.

More information on the project's progress and results can be obtained from Nicola Hope, project officer at the Mersey Forest, tel 01925 816217.