The Dept for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Inspectors(?) has come down in favour of giving the go ahead to the mental health secure unit in Bennett's Lane Halton View Widnes.
Although this decision was anticipated it will still be a big disappointment for residents in the area who fought long and hard to have the project changed.
There is an obvious need for these units, although I wonder about private sector involvement, but I would question a unit being built in such close proximity to a residential area and also the way the developers went about pursuing the proposal.
The other issue is the apparant lack of scrutiny that all members of the three main parties on the development and planning committee seemed to exercise.
In hindsight it's difficult to know whether greater scrutiny would have achieved a different result although we know in other areas were similar projects were on the cards such scrutiny prevented some of these developments.
One of the plusses which has occurred over the past eighteen months or so in relation to this issue is how it has brought residents together. It has shown that, with determination ordinary people can question effectively developments which are considered to be impacting on their lives.
In this case unfortunately the odds were stacked up against Halton View residents although they did hold up the opening of the unit for over 12 months.
Now its important that with the unit up and running that residents can be assured that it is as secure as it needs to be.
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