Minutes of AGM - 11 April 2026
Hoylake Conservation Areas Association
Minutes of Annual General Meeting at 1030 on Saturday 11 April 2026 at St Luke’s Church, Market Street, Hoylake
Attendees: Christopher Moore (Chairman), Councillor Andrew Gardner, Councillor Max Booth, HCA Committee members and 17 Local Residents. Apologies for absence as submitted were noted.
Welcome and Introduction
The chairman introduced himself and welcomed all those attending, particularly, Cllrs Gardner and Booth (Hoylake & Meolis ward). A record of the names of those attending was taken.
The Association (HCA) acts as a statutory consultee for all planning applications within the two designated conservation areas of The Kings Gap and Meols Drive. The association focuses on the built environment, not the natural one.
Through objective assessment against national and local plans, HCA aims to ensure that building design, size, aspect and materials are sympathetic and appropriate to the heritage and distinctive features of the Hoylake area.
Notice of Meeting
The Notice of Meeting having been promulgated by email, posting on the HCA website, on Facebook pages and in the supporting papers as supplied was taken as read.
Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting
The minutes from the previous meeting held on 5 April 2025 having been posted online and distributed at the meeting were accepted. Matters arising were covered in later agenda items.
Chairman’s Report
The past year has been one of consolidation under the influence of the updated Appraisals for The Kings Gap and Meols Drive Conservation Areas. These are available for scrutiny and reference on the Council as well as on the Hoylake Conservation Areas Association websites.
The appraisals, together with the related Management Plans and Gazetteer of Properties, were officially adopted prior to last year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). This marked a significant step in establishing a robust and authoritative framework for conservation protections throughout Hoylake. These documents now serve as the cornerstone for guiding conservation efforts and ensuring the appropriate management within our area.
Despite the positive impact of these appraisals, concerns had been raised regarding the adequacy of the public consultation process surrounding the proposed Conservation Area (CA) boundary extensions. Many householders reported being unaware of the proposed changes or how these might affect their properties, leading to uncertainty and apprehension within the community.
In response to these concerns, a workshop had been organised on 12 May shortly after the 2025 AGM. The purpose of this event had been to provide clear explanations about the rationale and advantages of extending the Conservation Areas to include notable properties, as well as to address previous inconsistencies and clarify the implications for those affected. The workshop succeeded in reassuring the majority of attendees and played a key role in alleviating most of the apprehensions expressed by householders.
Last year, it was our intention to reposition and install new Conservation Area (CA) signs to accurately reflect the recently updated boundaries. Although we were awarded a grant from our Ward Councillors to cover the associated costs, to date, we have found it difficult to navigate the complexities of Council bureaucracy which has prevented completion. However, from renewed efforts over the past month we are hopeful that the new signs will be installed in the near future to give better indication of the extended Conservation Area boundaries.
Elsewhere, your committee had monitored all planning applications as notified for compliance with the new set of planning guidelines from the NPPF, the updated Wirral Local Plan and the specific appraisals for our areas. HCA only objects to proposals which would cause harm to or compromise those guidelines. We are pleased that the updated appraisals have triggered greater awareness of conservation and the need to protect our area from poor design, over-development or intensification. We are pleased to report that the views of HCA are often sought in the early stages of submitting an application which is beneficial to both parties.
HCA supported the Council’s initiative to establish a Local List of valued properties and features across the Wirral. Inclusion on the List confers an additional level of protection for planning purposes but we have yet to see how effective such listing is through the planning cycle.
HCA remains disappointed at the scale, style and intensification of the Links Apartments at 100/102 Meols Drive. Planning approval was gained before the latest appraisals had been adopted. A similar test of the efficacy of protections is now posed by APP/25/1927 at Clavis 96 Meols Drive which, despite some welcome visual benefit to its prominent frontage, proposes extensions and two new properties to the rear which we regard as over-development and intensification. We, and other parties, have formally objected to this application as submitted and there is a public petition against the project currently signed by over 450 concerned residents. We hope for some reductions in the scale of the project on sound conservation principles.
Like many others, HCA has strong reservations about the Peak Cluster proposal to pump CO2 through a 200km pipeline from cement factories in Derbyshire through the Wirral to undersea chambers in Morecombe Bay. As presently proposed, this technically and politically risky but has no direct implications for our two CAs but we are monitoring current developments.
Last year, faced with litter strewn, overgrown and untidy public places across the Wirral, I encouraged our community to participate in clean-up efforts to better present our key features and buildings in the best possible light. Council resources are limited so the responsibility for pride in our unique landscape must fall to local residents and businesses. Since this is a Wirral wide issue, HCA has engaged widely with elected Councillors and sister organisations who care about our peninsula to augment the excellent work done by the ‘In Bloom’ and ‘Wirral Womble Litter Pickers’ and other volunteer groups. We have suggested through our Ward Councillors that shops (particularly convenience stores and fast-food outlets), businesses and schools should take a greater interest in and responsibility for their immediate vicinity as it is surely in their best interests to present a neat, tidy and attractive welcome to their customers and clients. We hope too that residents’ groups will adopt responsibility for their roads to report problems and deal with minor issues themselves. Collective effort like this is bound to be worthwhile.
The chairman recorded his gratitude to committee members and all those householders and individuals who support and take an interest in the aims of the Association. This extends to the Wirral Heritage team, our Ward Councillors, the Wirral Society and Conservation Areas Wirral with whom we are aligned.
Looking ahead, HCA remains committed to upholding HCA aims and objectives to the best of its ability. Thanks were reiterated for the trust and support HCA continued to enjoy .
Discussion
Although not falling within HCA’s responsibilities, frustration was evident at the lack of completion of the Beacon Project at the former Town Hall and its associated studios and apartment block. As things stand, the fine landmark Quadrant Buildings at the heart of the Kings Gap CA are regrettably marred by the lack of progress. The owner had been approached as to the project’s status but to no avail. It was suggested that a Completion Order could be sought. The ward councillors agreed to investigate.
[Post Meeting Note: A completion notice for the new build is unlikely to be justified as Torus are on site. However, one may be applicable for the former Town Hall where work appears to have stopped].
As for the use of the Kings Gap Court Hotel as accommodation for immigrants, it was suggested that perhaps the number of male only occupants had reduced in line with the Government’s longer-term intention to close such hotels to immigrant use. To knowledge, there had been no social or behavioural incidents or problems attributable to the immigrant residents.
The chairman’s report was accepted by the meeting.
HCA I&E Account, Statement of Assets & Liabilities
The I&E account and supporting Statement of Assets & Liabilities, having been distributed and made available at the meeting were explained by Hon Treas Pam Meredith Jones.
Subscription income had been disappointingly low but reflected the lack of a renewal system to which the committee would turn its attention. A welcome grant from the Wirral Communities Fund towards the cost of new signs was earmarked pending completion of that initiative.
On expenditure, the agreed contribution of £10,000 had been paid to the Council to partially offset the cost of the re-appraisals. The web service charge appeared high but was due to the former supplier billing us in retrospect whereas the new provider required payment in advance. Printing and room hire costs were in support of the AGM and the subsequent workshop for concerned residents.
In summary, the association was solvent but needed to increase subscription income to ensure there was more robust provision for planned and unplanned expenditure.
Sincere thanks were recorded to Hon Treasurer Pam Meredith Jones who had safeguarded the HCA funds for the last few years as she hands over Hon Treasurer duties to a successor.
The Financial Statements were accepted.
Elections to the HCA Committee
Mrs Jane Pickering had volunteered to serve on the committee and was prepared to assume the duties of Hon Treas. This election was approved unanimously.
Mr Christopher Moore, Mrs Sue Evans, Mrs Pamela Meredith Jones, Mr Andrew Pickering, Mrs Elizabeth Webster and Mr David Webster all being local residents offered themselves for re-election to the committee. Their nominations for election were approved unanimously.
Other Business
Presentation & Tidiness of the Town. The chairman commended the recent initiative by the Ward Councillors (under the provisional banner ‘Hoylake Action’) to carry out interventions to improve the tidiness and presentation of small key areas of the town, However, he felt that much more could be done to reduce the litter and untidiness constantly evident. Hoylake residents are extremely proud of and loyal to their town but in the face of a Council that had insufficient funds to improve matters it was suggested that residents could collectively do more to care for its presentation. In the same way that successful established community groups such as Hoylake & Meols in Bloom and the Christmas Lights group carry out periodic and much valued work, it was hoped that similar small community groups could take responsibility for broader tidiness. Residents could perhaps get together to take charge of their immediate vicinity by removing litter, trimming verges and overgrown hedging and clearing road gutters. A wider effort would do much to improve the look of the town and reinforce the pride we all feel in this lovely part of the peninsula. It could be that local businesses, particularly convenience stores and fast-food outlets should be encouraged to keep their immediate vicinity clean and tidy or become patrons by sponsoring the appearance of a discrete road, facility or area.
Although this was not directly a conservation matter, the chairman invited those attending to give tidiness and presentation some closer attention.
C T MOORE
3 May 2026
Chairman
