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178 Hawthorne Road Bootle L20 3AR

DC/2026/00317Full ApplicationRefused
Full

Refused on 19 June 2026

Council decision: Refuse1 reason for refusal

Site boundary (council red line)

Proposal

Change of use from former day nursery (Use Class E(f)) to independent special school (Use Class F1(a)) for up to 32 pupils aged 7-16 with SEMH needs. Minor rearrangements of external windows and doors as per plans.

Received
9 March 2026
Ward
Derby Ward
  1. Received9 Mar
  2. Validated9 Mar
  3. Consult.15 Jun
  4. Target
  5. Decided19 Jun

Decided in 102 days (council typically 56)

About this application

This is a full planning application for a change of use at 178 Hawthorne Road Bootle L20 3AR. Sefton has handled 1,804 applications of this type. This one was decided in 102 days, 7 weeks longer than Sefton's typical decision time. The site is in the Derby Park conservation area, with 1 listed building nearby. There has been 1 other application at this address. In the past year there have been 31 applications across Derby Ward. We hold 177 applications in total for the L20 postcode area.

95% of full applications at Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council were approved. Across all application types, the council typically decides in about 8 weeks (median).

Based on decided applications received in the last 3 years.See what's approved near your address

Why it was refused

  1. Insufficient information has been submitted to demonstrate that the site can safely accommodate the proposed level of vehicle movements, particularly given the concentration of trips within the AM peak period. No vehicle swept path analysis has been provided to demonstrate safe access and on site manoeuvring, and the proposed layout gives rise to unresolved internal vehicle conflict. In addition, the trip generation data within the submitted Transport Statement is inconsistent. Consequently, it has not been demonstrated that the proposal would not result in unacceptable impacts on highway safety and the wider highway network, contrary to paragraphs 115 and 116 of the National Planning Policy Framework and Policy EQ2 of the Local Plan.

From the council's decision notice.

Application details

Postcode
L20 3AR
Application type
Full Application
Scale / size
Small

Planning application dates

Date validated
9 March 2026
Consultation expiry
18 April 2026
Consultation end
15 June 2026

Applicant and agent

Applicant
Private applicant
Agent address
73 Lidderdale Road Liverpool L15 3JQ

Planning decision

Case officer
John Kerr

Publicity

Advertisement expiry
8 April 2026
Site notice end
18 April 2026

Additional information

Documents
0

Site constraints

Checking the site
2/3
Council recordsAppealsFlood risk

Designations that overlap or adjoin the site outline.

  • Conservation area: Derby Park Conservation AreaPart of the site
  • Article 4 direction: Bootle and Waterloo HMO
  • Flood zone 1: Low probability (rivers and sea)
Also checked, none recorded (22)

flood storage areas, listed buildings, tree preservation orders, green belt, scheduled monuments, World Heritage Sites, World Heritage Site buffer zones, registered parks and gardens, registered battlefields, Heritage at Risk entries, nutrient neutrality catchments, national parks, National Landscapes, SSSIs, Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas, Ramsar sites, ancient woodland, national nature reserves, local nature reserves, heritage coasts and brownfield registers.

A guide only, from official open data; it is not a planning search. Flood zones cover rivers and sea, not surface water.

Data © Crown copyright and others · sources and licences

Contains public sector information from planning.data.gov.uk (MHCLG and local planning authorities), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

© Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. The Historic England GIS Data contained in this material was obtained on 2026-11-03. The most publicly available up to date Historic England GIS Data can be obtained from HistoricEngland.org.uk.

© Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

© Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2026. All rights reserved. Flood Map for Planning, Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Source: Sefton

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