Sefton housing developer told to feed pink-footed geese

The developers must commit to feeding the geese perpetually

More than 200 homes can be built on the site of a former farm as long as the developer provides food for wild geese.

Hundreds of people objected to the housing development on the Orchard Farm site in Thornton in Sefton, Merseyside.

They raised concerns about the displacement of pink-footed geese, building on green spaces, a strain on local schools, and congestion.

Sefton councillors backed the plans but with conditions, including a commitment to feed the geese.

A commuted sum of nearly £115,000 would be required for the development to go ahead, the planning committee said.

The developer is also required to pay nearly £450,000 towards primary education and include a traffic light junction, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Thornton parish councillor James O'Keeffe told the planning committee that "the proposed junction and traffic lights in an area where roads are already gridlocked on a regular basis [will] further reduce traffic flow".

He said he felt it would lead to an "unacceptable impact on highway safety and an unacceptable increase in air pollution".

Pink-footed geese

• The pink-footed goose is a medium-sized goose, which does not breed in the UK

• Large numbers of birds spend the winter here, arriving from their breeding grounds in Spitsbergen, Iceland and Greenland

• Numbers in England are on the increase due to better protection at winter roosts

Source: RSPB

But the developer argued it had "worked closely with local highways and independent consultees to address any impacts of the scheme".

"We have a mitigation approach in place to protect migratory habitats of pink-footed geese," it added.

Planning officers said extensive modelling had been carried out to examine the impact of the development on the road network, and while it would have an impact this was not judged to be "severe."

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