West Lancs BC is seeking your views on it's "Preferred Options Paper", which
includes proposals for making some green belt land available for new housing
and the expansion of Edge Hill University. You can find out more on the
Council's web site at
http://www.westlancs.gov.uk/planning/planning_policy/The_Local_Plan_2012-2027/Consultation/Consultation_Events/Local_Plan_Preferred_Option.aspx
We had a very successful public meeting on 21st July 2011 when our speaker was
Rosie Cooper, MP. She outlined her vision for the future of Ormskirk and
ways in which the town could be revitalised. This was followed by a
lively question and answer session which gave local people the
opportunity to discuss issues concerning the town. Much of the discussion
centred on the impact of Edge Hill, both beneficial and detrimental, on
our relatively small market town. Rosie clearly understood residents'
concerns and is ready to help in any way she can. Another major issue
discussed was the need to attract both new businesses and visitors to the
town.
Anne, Ian, Karl and myself have been working for some weeks to get this web site to the stage where we can ask other OCP members to try it out and give us their comments.
It's not yet ready to be publicised more widely but we do hope that members will find some useful things here.
If you do have a comment, please use the link below to our contact form, which sends a message to all four of us.
Following on the news of more students, it's been
revealed that Edge Hill University is to get a whopping increase of 7.3% in the
money it gets from HEFCE. In these straightened times, when most public
bodies are coping with big cuts, this is very good news for Edge Hill and must
also be good news for Ormskirk businesses.
EHU have announced that they are to be given an additional 764 student places for the coming academic year. This also means an increase in income of about 10%.
Is this good news for Ormskirk? Depends on your viewpoint. More jobs, more spending in local shops and businesses, but also increased demand for student housing and more traffic.
