Petition Launched to Protect Weelsby Woods

Heneage resident and Liberal Democrat campaigner Brian Barrett has launched a petition calling for land beside Weelsby Woods to be removed from North East Lincolnshire Council’s emerging Local Plan.

The land between Weelsby Woods and Pennells Garden Centre (identified as site HOU074B) is being promoted as Weelsby Park, a development of up to 1,500 homes.

An Environmental Impact Assessment scoping request, reference DM/0584/26/SCO, has now been submitted. This is not an application for planning permission, but it is an early step used to establish what environmental information would need to accompany any future application. The submitted documents also include an indicative masterplan.

Brian stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Heneage at the last local election, when residents repeatedly raised concerns with him about the future of the land. As a local resident himself, he has continued listening to his neighbours and campaigning to protect Weelsby Woods and its surrounding green space.

Brian said: “Weelsby Woods is part of Grimsby’s heritage. Generations of local people have walked, exercised, enjoyed nature and brought their children here. It also provides an important habitat and corridor for wildlife.

“In 1948, Fred Parkes gifted 130 acres of the wooded Weelsby Old Hall Estate to the people of Grimsby, with the understanding that the Woods should be preserved as open space. Building on the surrounding land risks permanently changing its character and setting.

“People living near the 122-home Kings Grove development have told me they no longer see hedgehogs they once fed regularly. Residents have also reported seeing badgers and deer in their gardens.

“If these are the changes residents have observed near a development of 122 homes, the Council must carefully consider the potential consequences of building up to 1,500 homes across the remaining land.

“We recognise that new homes are needed, but they must be built in the right places. This petition gives our community an opportunity to speak up for Weelsby Woods, its wildlife and the surrounding landscape.”

Brian’s petition focuses on the Local Plan because it determines which areas the Council considers suitable for future development. If HOU074B remains allocated for housing, it leaves the door open to a future planning application.

The petition calls on North East Lincolnshire Council to remove HOU074B from the emerging Local Plan so that the land is no longer identified for housing.