General Meeting - 5 April 2025
NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Notice is hereby given that a General Meeting of the Hoylake Conservation AreasAssociation will be held in St Lukes Church Market Street Hoylake at 1030 on Saturday 5 April 2025.
Enclosed are copies of the Chairman’s Report, the Minutes of the last General Meeting held on February 2023 and a Statement on the HCA accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024.
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1. Welcome and Apologies for absence.
2. To approve the Minutes of the previous General Meeting.
3. To accept the Statement of Accounts to 31 December 2024.
4. To elect Ms Katie du Plessis to sit on the Committee.
5. To re-elect Mr Christopher Moore, Mrs Sue Evans, Mrs Pamela Meredith Jones, Mr Andrew Pickering, Mrs Liz Webster, and Mr David Webster who offer themselves for re-election to serve on the committee.
6. Other Business.The meeting will be followed at 11:30 by a presentation from Ms Agustina Solassi
(Principal Heritage Officer at Wirral Council) entitled “Strategy”.C T Moore
HCA Chairman -
RECORD OF GENERAL MEETING OF HOYLAKE AREAS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION HELD AT ST HILDEBURGH’S CHURCH HALL ON 4 FEBRUARY 2023
Present: C T Moore Chairman
P E Meredith Jones Treasurer
M Meredith Jones Committee
K Whitford Committee
S Evans Committee
24 Residents/Members
In Attendance C Han Senior Heritage Officer
The Notice convening the meeting was taken as read.
The Chairman welcomed all those attending and for their interest in conservation. Those who had tendered their apologies for being unable to attend were acknowledged.
Report & Financial Statement.
The Chairman’s Report (attached and available on line) was distributed to all attendees and explained. Emphasis was placed on the need to improve membership records, subscriptions and communication to local residents. It was hoped that the new committee would be able to address these weaknesses.
HCA continued to cooperate with Conservation Areas Wirral, the Wirral Society, Hoylake Vision and the Save Red Rocks Association to mutual benefit. Links to the Council Planning Department had been difficult during and after lockdown but a new sense of cooperation was being attempted – evidenced by the welcome presence at the meeting of Chris Han, the newly appointed Senior Heritage Officer, who has responsibility for conservation in the Borough.
Various points about specific applications to develop uncharacteristic blocks of flats after demolition of individual properties within the Meols Drive and Kings Gap CAs were discussed in a constructive manner. A particular problem was the adverse cumulative effect if such applications were approved on an individual basis. Some success could be claimed in limiting the hostile schemes at Wirral Point which required demolition of the established Cat ‘B’ property in that the latest application from Blueoak retained the existing dwelling by converting it to four apartments. This latest scheme preserved the roof line and characteristic vista of the landscape at this notably prominent position overlooking the Dee and the Red Rocks SSSI and, although less than ideal, was considered not to warrant an objection. It was noted that this was not a view that all Stanley Road residents accepted. There was still deep unhappiness and
frustration evident at the handling of the application for flats at 100/102 Meols Drive which HCA considered a fundamental breach of conservation principles. By contrast, there was relief that a similar application for demolition of the White House Meols Drive to be replaced by an intrusive block of flats had been withdrawn – at least temporarily. Other points of concern were noted as recorded in the Report.
The difficulties posed by the inconsistencies and incompleteness of the family of development plans, some very dated, which affected conservation were outlined. In particular, the new Local Plan submitted for examination did not fully address some conservation concerns hence there was an urgent and important need to carry out re-appraisals of the dated designated CAs for Kings Gap (2000) and Meols Drive (2004) which no longer reflected current planning concerns and gave rise to undue pressures. The Hoylake neighbourhood Development Plan was helpful in some respects but it did not apply to the whole of the area for which we take responsibility.
At this point, Mr Tom Hutchinson, an independent Planning Consultant and local Kings Gap resident was introduced to the meeting. As a volunteer with Hoylake Vision he had already carried out important (unpaid) work on development plans for the area and he was invited to outline a specific initiative about updating appraisals and their supporting management plans.
“The family of plans and policies which govern planning, conservation and development range from the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) issued by the Government, the Wirral Unitary Development Plan (UDP) of 2000, the Hoylake NDP of 2015 and the dated appraisals for Kings Gap and Meols Drive which were designated in 2000 and 2004 respectively. Collectively, there are inconsistencies and anomalies which, with the passage of time, have become more and more apparent and which lead to poor understanding. The new Local Plan is at an advanced stage and is currently being examined by the Planning Inspectorate before promulgation. Also the Hoylake NDP is under review before re-issue with mor definitive Master Plan and Design Guides in draft but subject to consultation.
Of most concern to conservation locally will be the absence of density guidelines in the higher level documents and the incomplete nature and limited relevance of the appraisals for our two CAs. However, there is light on the horizon in that the Council has acknowledged the urgent need to update the appraisals and has earmarked £10,000 in FY23/24 towards commissioning external experts to conduct re-appraisals for Meols Drive and Kings Gap and produce supporting management plans. Contact with the accredited experts – Donald Insall Associates – has secured a negotiated quotation of £20,000 to undertake this work leaving a funding gap of £10,000. It is hoped that HCA and its members and supporters can see the obvious benefits of such an exercise and can agree to match fund the Council’s allocation in order to allow the work to be commissioned later this year. It was important to understand that the work has to be commissioned by the Council in order for it to have the required status.”
This suggestion met with enthusiastic support from those attending as a signal to develop the proposal as a firm HCA initiative which Mr Hutchinson agreed to draft in cooperation with the Planning Department and HCA. A formal agreement between HCA and the Council was thought to be needed with appropriate financial safeguards, evidence gathering through consultation with affected parties and a clear view of the expected outcome.
Tom Hutchinson was thanked for his presentation, his work so far undertaken and in anticipation of the further work he had agreed to undertake.
The Chairman’s Report was accepted.
Committee Composition.
After many years of service on the committee, Mrs Kitty Whitford and Mr Miles Meredith Jones were resigning and not seeking re-election. Mr Tim Wilkinson had been co-opted onto the committee but his business commitments meant that he no longer has the time so must resign. Mrs Pam Meredith Jones and Mr Graham Stevens offered themselves for re-election. Mr David Webster and Mrs Elizabeth Webster who had played such a prominent part in objecting to the application for 100/102 Meols Drive had offered their services to the committee and they were unanimously elected. The chairman, Mr Chris Moore, wished to stand down after 13 years on the committee but no candidate had come forward. It was agreed that he should remain on the committee for continuity and that chairmanship should be at the discretion of the committee.
Other Business. Mrs Jean Taylor raised the everyday problem of speeding traffic at the level crossing and car parking on Station Approach which she believed to be dangerous. Her views were shared but, as this was not a conservation issue as such, it was suggested that she take this up with the Ward Councillors.
Closing Remarks. The outgoing committee members were thanked for their services as was the Parish Council for the use of the Church Hall for the meeting. The meeting was closed on a note of qualified optimism that the efforts of the Association had achieved some small successes and had identified a way forward for the community to help initiate re-appraisals for Meols Drive and Kings Gap which should provide a much improved and more current evidence base with which to determine planning applications.
C T MOORE
Chairman 12 February 2023
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It is two years since our last AGM but that does not imply a lack of activity. In Feb 23 we resolved to seek re-appraisals for Meols Drive and the Kings Gap CAs to replace the outdated and incomplete versions from 2004 and 2000 respectively.
After a two year campaign, I am now pleased to confirm that independent re-appraisals for both areas have recently been adopted by the Council and are in force. These reports which were commissioned by the Council and conducted by Donald Insall Associates are available on-line. They are comprehensive, detailed, authoritative and up-to-date. They make small but significant extensions to the CA boundaries in key areas, identify the key characteristics and features, evaluate the contribution each building or group makes, they identify issues and opportunities and introduce Management Plans with recommendations to help protect and enhance our unique area.
We were able to trigger this process by the excellent response to our funding appeal in early 2023. Over £10,000 was raised in short order which was a clear demonstration of how much the community values conservation and protection of our built environment and open landscape. HCA offers its sincere thanks to all those individuals, families, groups and organisations that supported the appeal. This impressive level of support gave us the credibility and leverage we needed to press the Council to conduct the review.
Planning Applications. The committee has continued in its role as a statutory consultee for all applications in our two areas. We aim to offer objective comment based on planning policies and plans to help safeguard the area. HCA together with Stanley Road Residents’ Association played a key part in the decision – upheld by the independent Planning Inspector – to reject a flat development scheme at Wirral Point which has subsequently reverted to use as a single dwelling.
Other notable schemes where our views were taken into account prior to approval were at the Hoylake Tennis Club, West Kirby Grammar School, 23 Stanley Road and in St Margaret’s Road. Our strong heritage case against development of 15 Stanley Road as flats held sway and this application has recently been withdrawn.
Less successfully, our strong objections to the prominent flat development at 100/102 Meols Drive did not prevent approval by the Planning Committee nor to the amended scheme which is now being built. We remain concerned over its impact on the street scene by its height and by its parking arrangements. Currently, we are dealing with applications at 53 Meols Drive and 62 Stanley Road. There are bound to be others of concern but the new family of CA documents should help and inform all parties to submit sympathetic plans and better safeguard our buildings. We routinely offer opinions to proposed tree works in the two CAs.
Other Current Activity. The committee encourages developers and owners to seek informal advice before submitting an application. We are arranging for new CA signs to be erected to cover the newly extended boundaries, we are updating the HCA leaflet to inform residents – particularly those whose properties are now within the CAs – about the HCA role and owner obligations. It is hoped that many of the latter will join the association and take an active part. We are also updating the HCA website to make it a more useful source of information as well as to better control and account for subscription income.
We are involved in the new Council Local Listing initiative to protect buildings and features of character and historical or architectural interest. We work alongside the Wirral Society, Conservation Areas Wirral and Hoylake Vision to ensure coherence and mutual support. We are pleased to enjoy the positive interest of our three ward councilors in planning and conservation.
The Future. Thanks to the newly adopted CAAMP, the knowledge, energy and commitment of the new Principal Heritage Officer and the support of the committee and councilors, I am increasingly confident that we have the tools to properly protect and enhance our area. There is still much that can be improved and we have yet to gauge the impact of the Local Plan and changes to the NPPF. However, community involvement, commitment, informed opinion must always be a lasting influence as we seek to protect this lovely corner of the Wirral peninsula.
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Hoylake Conservation Areas Association
Income and expenditure account
for the period 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024
2023-2024
Income £
Subscriptions 130.00
Funding Appeal - 2023 10,480.00
Total income 10,801.00
Expenditure
Web Services 93.60
Room Hire AGM (Feb 23) 35.00
Total Expenditure 128.60
Net income/(expenditure) 10,672.40
Hoylake Conservation Areas Association
Statement of assets and liabilities
at 31 December 2024
2023-2024
Cash assets £
Current account 11,139.97
Total cash assets 11,139.97
Represented by
Reserves b/f from 31-12-2022 467.57
Surplus for the period 01-01-23 to 31-12-24 10,672.40
11,139,97
These financial statements are accepted on behalf of the organisation by:
Hoylake Conservation Areas Association
Notes to the accounts
for the period 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024
Income and expenditure accounts
Receipts and payments accounts are statements that summarise the movement
of cash into and out of the organisation during the financial period. In this context
“cash” includes cash equivalents, for example, bank accounts where cash can be
readily withdrawn to pay for debts as they become due.
1. Membership annual subscription
The subscription rate remained the same as previous years at £5.00 per
household but, due to the appeal, was waived for 2024 (other than for payments
made by Standing Order).
1. Committee members’ remuneration
During this period, committee members received no remuneration.
