Response to the Wirral Local Plan Scoping Consultation (August 2026)
HCA has responded to Wirral Council’s consultation, calling for stronger protection for the character, setting and heritage of King’s Gap and Meols Drive.
HCA responds to Wirral’s new Local Plan
The Hoylake Conservation Areas Association has submitted a detailed response to Wirral Council’s consultation on the next Local Plan.
The new Local Plan will help shape where and how development takes place across Wirral in the years ahead. For us, this was an important opportunity to make sure the special character of the King’s Gap and Meols Drive Conservation Areas - and the streets and landscape around them - is properly recognised and protected.
Our submission draws on the updated Conservation Area Appraisals and Management Plans adopted in 2025 and argues that these should now be reflected throughout the Council’s planning policies, maps and future decisions.
What are we asking for?
A central concern is the pressure for higher-density development around railway stations. HCA is asking the Council to retain the existing protection which excludes designated Conservation Areas from minimum density requirements, update its maps to reflect the extended 2025 Conservation Area boundaries, and recognise that development immediately outside those boundaries can also affect their character and setting.
We are also calling for stronger policies to address the gradual changes which, taken together, can significantly alter an area: the demolition or extensive redevelopment of historic houses, loss of spaces between buildings, front gardens replaced by parking, removal of traditional boundary walls and kerbs, and new buildings which dominate established streets or important views.
HCA has stressed that protecting heritage does not mean opposing new homes or investment. We support appropriate development in the right places, including the potential for mixed-use regeneration around Carr Lane. What we oppose is using the established residential streets of our Conservation Areas and their setting as areas for inappropriate intensification.
The submission also highlights the wider value of Hoylake’s historic environment. The character of the west Wirral coast, the Royal Liverpool Golf Club and the surrounding Conservation Areas contributes not only to local identity, but to the visitor economy and the attractiveness of the area as a place to live, visit and invest.
Heritage should have a clear place in the Plan
Perhaps most importantly, HCA has asked the Council to give the historic environment its own clear place in the new Local Plan.
None of the twelve questions in the initial scoping consultation dealt specifically with heritage, despite it being an important part of what makes Wirral distinctive. We believe the next stages should include a dedicated heritage section and measurable commitments to protecting Conservation Areas.
The full HCA submission sets out our position in detail and shows how we are continuing to represent residents and protect the characteristics that make King’s Gap and Meols Drive such special places.
