Formby Parish Council fights to save Park Road playing field from future housing

Formby Parish Council is calling on Sefton Council to reconsider plans which could eventually see around 15 homes built on the former school playing field at Park Road, arguing that the land should instead be protected as community green space for future generations.

The Parish Council is sending a detailed open letter and supporting evidence to several departments at Sefton Council this week, raising concerns about the potential loss of the former school playing field adjoining the Professional Development Centre and Ravenmeols Community Centre.

At the centre of the argument is not only the future of the field itself, but the amount of additional housing which the Parish Council says has already been created across Formby outside the housing numbers originally allocated through Sefton’s 2017 Local Plan.

According to records compiled locally, 425 additional homes have been built or approved as what are described as “windfall” developments since 2012.

This is in addition to approximately 1,000 homes allocated for Formby through Sefton’s 2017 Local Plan.

What does “windfall housing” actually mean?

The term can sound complicated, but the principle is relatively straightforward.

A windfall development is housing that comes forward on a site which was not specifically allocated for housing in the Local Plan.

This can include developments such as houses built in large gardens, homes constructed after the demolition of an existing property, conversions of commercial buildings into flats, development of previously unidentified land or additional homes added to a larger development beyond the number originally allocated.

For example, the Parish Council’s figures include the Redrow development at Andrews Close. The Local Plan allocation was for 87 homes, while planning permission was subsequently granted for 99. The Parish Council has therefore counted the additional 12 homes as windfall housing.

Similarly, its records state that the West Lane Redrow development was allocated 40 homes in the 2017 Local Plan, while a later application proposed 95 homes, resulting in 55 additional homes being included in its windfall calculation.

The Parish Council says it has maintained its own records of these developments because it believes the cumulative impact of smaller and additional developments needs to be considered alongside Formby’s major allocated housing sites.

425 additional homes identified

The Parish Council’s extensive list stretches from 2012 to 2026 and includes developments across Formby ranging from individual houses constructed in gardens to substantial schemes.

Among the larger developments included in its figures are:

• 75 homes at the former PowerHouse site off Hoggs Hill Lane, accessed from Park Road

• 34 homes at Lenton Avenue

• 32 apartments at the former Mayflower Industrial Estate on Liverpool Road

• 13 homes at 59 to 63 Liverpool Road following demolition of the former public house buildings

• 13 flats created from the former residential care home at 5 to 7 School Lane

• 12 apartments at 5 Marsh Brows following demolition of former industrial buildings

• 12 additional homes above the Local Plan allocation at Andrews Close

• 10 flats at The Cloisters above M&S on Halsall Lane

• 10 flats replacing a house at 7 Brows Lane, which the Parish Council records as a net increase of nine homes

• seven homes at the Piggeries site on Southport Old Road

• numerous individual houses constructed on former gardens, vacant plots and land severed from existing properties.

The Parish Council’s document puts the overall total at 425 windfall units since 2012.

Why Park Road is now the focus

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The former school playing field at Park Road is identified in Sefton’s existing Local Plan for approximately 15 homes.

Formby Parish Council has asked Sefton Council to reconsider that allocation and says it is willing to explore a long term arrangement under which the Parish Council could take responsibility for maintaining the field as community green open space.

Its argument is that the Park Road neighbourhood has already experienced considerable development.

The former PowerHouse site alone resulted in 75 homes, accessed through Park Road, and the Parish Council believes the cumulative effect of development across Formby should now be taken into account when considering whether another green space needs to be released for housing.

The Council says: “This should not be regarded simply as a choice between development and an unused field. It is a choice between approximately 15 additional houses and retaining one of the few remaining opportunities to provide children and families in this densely populated neighbourhood with safe green space and everyday contact with nature.”

Children’s health and access to nature

A significant part of the submission focuses on children’s physical and mental wellbeing.

The Parish Council has included supporting research which associates children’s access to green and natural environments with increased physical activity, opportunities for informal play, improved mental wellbeing, reduced stress, social interaction and potential benefits to attention and cognitive development.

It also highlights research concerning children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

A 2024 systematic review examining nature exposure and ADHD in school aged children found that the seven studies meeting its criteria consistently reported associations between exposure to nature and lower ADHD symptom severity or fewer ADHD diagnoses.

Importantly, the Parish Council stresses that it is not claiming that access to a playing field is a treatment for ADHD. Instead, it says the research adds to wider evidence supporting children’s opportunities for outdoor activity and contact with nature.

The submission also refers to NICE guidance recognising the importance of children and young people having safe opportunities to be physically active and access outdoor environments where they can play and explore.

Red squirrels and bats reported on the site

The Parish Council argues that the land should not be viewed simply as an empty grass field.

It says the site is surrounded by substantial mature trees and forms part of an established green environment.

Residents have recently supplied photographs which the Parish Council says show red squirrels within the grounds, including photographs taken only days before the letter was prepared.

Residents have also reported seeing bats flying around the site during the evening.

The adjoining Professional Development Centre and Ravenmeols Community Centre are actively used for educational, training and community purposes, while the Grade II listed Deans Cottage immediately adjoins the site.

The Parish Council believes this creates an unusual opportunity for children and families living in a densely developed residential area to experience nature within walking distance of their homes.

A green space rather than an expensive new facility

The proposal does not necessarily involve turning the land into a formal sports facility or installing expensive playground equipment.

Instead, the Parish Council believes considerable benefit could come simply from maintaining it as a safe, attractive and accessible green space where children and families could play, exercise, meet and enjoy the natural environment.

It says families have used the field as open green space for more than 40 years since the school closed.

The Council argues that undeveloped land of this nature within an established residential neighbourhood would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to replace once developed.

Sefton’s next Local Plan could provide an opportunity

Sefton Council is preparing its next Local Plan, which the Parish Council says will cover the period 2029 to 2044.

Formby Parish Council believes this presents an opportunity to reconsider the Park Road housing allocation in light of the development which has taken place since the existing Local Plan was prepared.

It is asking councillors to support the principle that no irreversible decision should be made over the disposal or development of the Park Road playing field until its potential contribution to children’s health, wellbeing, recreation and access to nature has been properly assessed.

The Parish Council is also asking Sefton to explore whether the residential allocation could be removed and the land retained permanently as community green open space, with Formby Parish Council playing an active role in securing and maintaining its future.

Its letter concludes with a simple warning:

“Once that opportunity is lost, we cannot recreate it.”

The open letter and supporting documents are being distributed to relevant departments and councillors at Sefton Council, while copies are also due to be distributed to residents throughout the Park Road area from 21 September 2026.

For residents, the debate ultimately comes down to a significant decision about the future of this piece of Formby: approximately 15 more homes, or the long term protection of an established green space for the surrounding community and generations of children to come.