An exhibition of the proposals for The Garden Village at Handforth, organised by Cheshire East Council's development company, Engine of the North, attracted over 100 people on Wednesday, 16th January.
A broad range of interested parties went along to view the display at Handforth Youth Club and meet members of Members of the Engine of the North team who were on hand to answer any queries about the project.
In addition to local residents, those in attendance included councillors from Stockport MBC, Martin Watkins and Angela McPake from Wilmlow Town Council, the Head Teacher from the Wilmslow Academy Primary School, Friends of Handforth Station, the Chair from Smithy Model Aircraft Club who have for many years rented a small part of Handforth Meadows, Neighbourhood Plan representatives from Woodford, a representative from Handforth and cocoa councillors.
The proposed site is bordered by the A34 to the west and the A555 (Manchester Airport Eastern Link Road) to the north. Subject to receiving planning approval, the new village will provide 1,675 new residential properties. This will include a range of housing types and tenure; including affordable and starter homes, family houses and apartments.
It will also include bungalows suitable for older people and up to 175 extra care housing units for older people who need care. The village will also include employment land and a village centre with shops, pub, restaurants, etc. Other new facilities will include a primary school, children's day nursery, sports facilities, and a village hall. In addition, there will be around 47 hectares of green open space.
Speaking about the proposals, Councillor Barry Burkhill said "I had a long conversation with Scott Royal (Communications Manager at Engine of the North) at the exhibition. I stressed to him that as we have lost 65% of our strategic greenbelt here due to the CEC ruling group's Local Plan, there must be tangible benefits for those who would like to live within the Handforth Garden Village, particularly for our Handforth Ward residents who cannot afford to buy a home locally or even rent one affordably.
"Our main concern is to ensure that within the mix of housing types, there will predominate dwellings of one and two bedrooms, the type of housing which residents need as starter homes. Cheshire East's Planning Policy, sometimes ignored, is to ensure that 30% of a development is for affordable housing. We have been assured that at least 30% of the garden village will be affordable and more would be welcome. 65% of these must be for social rented accommodation which should be administered by a Housing Association or through CEC home choice.
"I also stressed to Scott that we don't want the private landlords buying up scores of the houses and then letting them off at unaffordable rents. Our aim is to ensure that Handforth residents are housed appropriately, to give the opportunity for young family members to move on and to ensure that there are enough dwellings for social rent to house those who are waiting for them."
Councillor Toni Fox, Dean Row Ward, who spent an hour and a half at the exhibition, said "It was disappointing that there wasn't any printed information available to take away but from what I witnessed officers were well informed and helpful on a broad range of topics. It was however unclear as to how the feedback would be considered and potentially incorporated in a planning application."
She added "Immediate concerns that come to mind are how "sustainable" the proposals are. Whilst the government and the Council are publicly committed to reducing air pollution and encouraging the use of public transport, walking and cycling, it is difficult to see how these are a priority for this site given it is bordered by two busy commuter transport corridors.
"For a significant portion of the site the distance is well in excess of the guideline distances for walking to facilities in Handforth, including the train station. This is likely to result in an increased requirement for parking in Handforth that is not currently available.
"Equally concerns relating to the provision of health services and secondary education provision remain outstanding."
Cllr Fox added "It unlikely to be a commercially viable Rapid Bus route and no detail has been given as to who will subsidise it, for what period of time, and what the routes will be.
"There are outstanding issues in respect of the Rapid Bus route via Dairy House Lane to Hall Moss Lane - how this will work in reality as a bus route only - given this is the main point of access to the MOD site and one of the accesses used by members of Total Fitness. Equally this is a cross border consideration for Stockport MBC and any traffic implications connected with it."
She continued "It is disappointing that that the area, designated in 2016 as a Local Wildlife Site which lies to the west of the site, is proposed to be largely built upon.
"A significant area of the site, previously occupied by the MOD, has been undisturbed for many years, more so since the A34 bypass was constructed in the 1990's. During the intervening period protected species have returned to this area. There are very few areas in the Borough of Cheshire East Council, particularly close to nearby conurbations in the north of Borough, that offer such diversity and ecological value on land that is not managed.
"The LWS that currently lies to the north of the access road to Total Fitness and west of the A34 has been largely ignored by the Council for many years. Protected species were relocated here where there are 3 large ponds as part of the both the Handforth Dean development and the A34 bypass. Over the years it has been subjected to heavy littering by off road bikers and folk fishing and no effort has been made by the Council to protect or look after it.
"Build rate on new development varies however if we take Heathfield Farm as an example they propose a build rate of 40 houses per annum. It seems somewhat unrealistic therefore that this site will be completed by 2030 even if there are multiple developers on site. It is baffling as to why such a timescale is being promoted."
Engine of the North is preparing to submit a planning application for The Garden Village at Handforth in the coming weeks, and will shortly conduct public consultation on the proposed planning application.
The planning application will be a 'hybrid' submission, with outline permission being sought to establish the principles for housing and the wider site layout, and detailed permission being sought for the site accesses, infrastructure and public realm to create the village centre.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
The construction of housing on the massive Green Belt site in question has be contentious for many years; CEC have got themselves into more than a few controversies (even amongst their own Conservative Party ranks) allegations made, fingers pointed, accusations made, sackings, etc.
For example (there are many more on this site and elsewhere in the public domain): https://bit.ly/2sBdFm4
Unless, of course, I've got completely the wrong location; in which case I apologise, unreservedly to all parties involved; for my geographical lack of knowledge and any wrong end of sticks which I may have picked up.
One model put to stakeholders creates an Academy at Handforth. The more one thinks of this the more attractive it becomes. If CEC owns most of the land assigned to the new village and the safeguarded land adjacent to this then there are rich pickings to be had. Add to this the 106 and new homes bonus monies coming from Government there is a pot of gold from which to afford the very latest design of schools. There is even more money available in setting up a new school coming with an Academy. It adds up to a very attractive proposition when a new secondary school can be built at little or no cost to the council.
Some years ago a new build Parrswood High School was paid for through the development of what we know today as the Parrswood Leisure Complex. As Stockport schools are full a shared secondary provision to meet the needs of a rapidly growing local population is a no brainer. It comes at almost zero cost and will bring some relief to Wilmslow and the long suffering neighbours of the High School.
I found Cllr Fox's comments in the above article regarding lack of bus transport proposals in the plan and the expected increase in parking problems in Handforth to be misleading and incorrect.
I discussed at length with one of the Planning Consultants the original suggested route for a bus service which would transport residents from the HGV to Handforth Station. The proposed parking facility on land between Handforth Youth Centre and St. Benedict's church was shown on the first board at the presentation.
We agreed that the original route as shown in the Handforth Neighbourhood Plan (HNP) was not suitable, but that a route from the HGV which ran behind Handforth Dean and via Stanley Green Trading Estate and into Handforth would be far more useful to commuters. We also agreed that this proposed service should form part of any overall solution for buses in Handforth/Wilmslow.
It would seem that Cllr Fox has not read the Handforth Neighbourhood Plan, which is an excellent document and is available for examination at Handforth Library.
Indeed I have read Handforth’s Neighbourhood Plan which I agree is an excellent document.
It is a misconception that Cheshire East Council has to comply with Neighbourhood Plans. Whilst any legally endorsed Neighbourhood Plan is one of many material planning considerations in determing a planning application Planning Committees at Cheshire East Council can, and have, approved planning applications that do not comply with them.
Unfortunately despite what you may have agreed verbally with an officer at a public exhibition, or the policies contained in a Neighbourhood Plan, neither offers any guarantee that these will be reflected in a submitted planning application.
How many new car parking spaces are required to meet existing need in Handforth? How many additional spaces will be required once the Clay Lane/Sagars Road site and the North Cheshire Growth Village have been built? The answer is Cheshire East Council does not know, but it knows there is already a problem. This is one of the reasons why Handforth was included in the list of Towns across the Borough for a parking survey in the High Level Parking Strategy in 2017.
What we also know is that in order to save money Cheshire East Council has recently reduced the number of bus services they subsidise. Given this fact, and that it is being proposed and that the Rapid Bus service will link in with the new development at Woodford, which Authority is going to guarantee to subsidise a new bus service and for how long?
Councillor Toni Fox
Independent
Both myself and RoW have attended many CEC "public consultations" both on site and before the "independent" planning inspector's many hearings re the Local Plan. If our views and yours Cllr Smith, do bot accord with the planners they are & will be ignored. Any imaginary verbal "agreement" you believe you have reached is worthless. Even if you both have signed such a written agreement (Have you his name & position? Time & date of your conversation? Even with these it is worth less than a worthless guarantee from a bankrupt business!!)
Therefore Cllr Fox is absolutely correct in drawing your attention to the real world; it ain't like you imagine it to be,
From their review of the Handforth Neighbourhood Plan (HNP) they have identified 2 primary mitigation measures which they can undertake to fulfil their obligations.
1. Construction of a station car park between Handforth Youth Centre and
St Benedict’s.
2. To run a rapid transport bus service between the HGV and this car park, subsidised for 5 years through S106 agreement.
This is the service which I was discussing on Wednesday evening which would also run through Handforth village and terminate at the station car park. I would like to see this subsidised service form the basis for a more comprehensive route.
Also during the recent Access for All (AfA) grant application meeting which I attended as the Handforth Parish Council (HPC) representative, Friends of Handforth Station (FoHS) also met with CEC Local Transport strategy officers who agreed that the station car park as referred to in the HNP, (Policy H17 Public Car Parking and Policy H20 Supporting Investment in Infrastructure) should be built and this is contained within the draft CEC local transport strategy plan. Alongside a host of measures to improve the crossing on Station Road as well as footpath improvements on the approach to the station from the east. These were confirmed in the AfA application.
Planning officers must give the HNP equal weighting to the CELPS (Local Plan) when reviewing planning applications.
The possible station car park would allow commuters using the train to park cars, motor cycles or bicycles in a secure manner. Many cars are parked all day on Church Road or in the Library/Health Centre car park and on South Acre Drive amongst others. Giving a reliable safe alternative coupled with enforcement may reduce this issue.
I prefer to consider the glass half full, not half empty. As you say, we have no guarantees any of this will come to fruition, but, I’d rather attempt to make it happen instead of assuming it won’t.
John M. Smith
Half full glass or half empty, believe it or not, both are at the very same level.
I hope you are proven right to have faith in CECs behaviour but spots and leopards spring to mind
Having read many comments over the years on Wilmslow.co.uk about the congestion on the A34, it was disappointing to see that the main access will be the Coppice Way roundabout - holding up traffic rather than using the Tesco dumbbell roundabout, which at least would reduce delays to traffic going the other way in the mornings. And it would be good to see how the new foot and bike bridge across the A34 would look and attract people to use it to the station. We should be installing a lot of bike space at the station if we were really thinking of the future. And where is the thinking on a complete reorganisation of bus routes to get us out of our cars?