Handforth residents have less than a week to have their say on where future housing, jobs, roads, schools, leisure facilities, parks, green spaces, roads and much more will be developed in Handforth.
All residents are being urges to take part in the Local Plan Consultation which runs until Monday, October 1st.
To date only 85 responses have been received to this important document which will decide future infrastructure and feed into the final Cheshire East Local Plan, which lasts until 2030.
The draft strategy for Handforth proposes:
- Jobs – improve access to, and opportunities for, employment for local people, including local links between Handforth and Stanley Green/Handforth Dean, and transport links to opportunities outside of Handforth;
- Housing – develop good quality, well-designed housing in sustainable locations to meet the current and future needs of the town. This includes providing affordable, intermediate, open market and specialist housing suitable for the elderly and those with particular needs. There is also the prospect of a new 'sustainable community' with the potential for 1,000 homes on land to the east of the Handforth Bypass;
- Transport – improve car parking facilities in the town centre, Handforth Station and health centre. Improve access to Manchester Airport and M56 by completing the A555 Airport Link Road; and
- Environment – protect public green and open spaces, such as Meriton Road Park, Delamere Road and Henbury Road. Preserve the existing small gap around the town to prevent it from merging with Greater Manchester and Wilmslow.
Councillor Michael Jones, Leader of Cheshire East Council, said: "Many people in the Borough have seen controversial site allocation outlines.
"Instead of opposing things, I want to hear people say what they support, what they want to see happen in their communities.
"I want their views so that we can get it right and, in order for that to happen, I genuinely need a robust consultation. The more people who participate, the better our Local Plan will be."
To have your say on the Local Plan log on to: www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/localplan.
Consultation documents are also available at Handforth Library.
The consultation runs until Monday, October 1st.
What do you think about the Draft Handforth Town Strategy? Share your views via the comment box below.
Photo: Wilmslow based PCSO's Gareth Harding and Emma Darroch with Cheshire East Graduate Management Trainees Amy Goudie and Suzie Kennedy talking about the Local Plan in Handforth last week.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
We were told that the site preferred by Cheshire East is M1 where they could build up to 1500. This is an area remote from the infrastructure of Handforth. It eats into the 'green belt' between CE and Stockport making Handforth become part of the urban sprawl from Manchester. Indeed if this was to happen then Handforth residents may consider asking for a referendum to cede from Cheshire East and become part of Stockport.
The number of houses that Handforth needs in the next 20 years is about 500, so where are the other residents for the other 1000 coming from? Strangely enough the Vision Wilmslow document said that it needed 1500 but the reaction to this led to panic as action groups set up and our beloved council leader started to fear that he would lose political support, so the number was reduced to 500, the other 1000 magiced away as being an over estimate. It is strange that now Handforth is seen to have the right size of land for the 1000 beyond its own needs.
What's more conveniently M1 just happens to belong to Cheshire East, what a lucky coincidence. We have been told that any sale of the land to developers will not result in funds coming to Handforth but being used in Cheshire East. Indeed we have been told that one of the uses will be to fund the Congleton by-pass.
If the CE ignore residents wishes and decide on M1, then it will stand to have a massive cash injection. In natural justice is it fair that an authority can make decisions against public wishes in order to profit? Worse still is this being done for political reasons, the voters of Handforth have a tendency to vote for independent councillors, unlike in Wilmslow where CE's ruling party dominates the wards. Far be in for me to say their is a hint of political expediency if this decision is taken.
Those of us with long political memories will remember in the 1990's the antics of Westminster City Council, I am sure that the leaders of Cheshire East have higher ethical standards than those of Dame Shirley Porter and her colleagues.