In December 2022, plans for 99 homes on land around Mill Lane in Newton-le-Willows were refused by St Helens Council.

The land has been removed from the borough's green belt as part of the council's Local Plan for long-term development, but the access and emergency link road was proposed on safeguarded land, which is only to be used for developments after 2037.

After a revised planning application was refused for a second time in September 2024, Wain Homes appealed to the government's Planning Inspectorate, which overturned the refusal.

With Wain Homes' revising their proposals to 92 homes, the Planning Inspector felt that it was "satisfactorily demonstrated that the [safeguarded] land could come forward as a second phase of development, following the development of the appeal site".

The inspector also perceived that the development did "not appear isolated, in either visual or spatial terms, and would therefore not harm character and appearance of the appeal site or surrounding area”.

While accepting that the development would place added demand on local services, the inspector believed that this was outweighed by its "accessible location [which] would make a significant contribution to the housing stock in the borough."