Job losses at AstraZeneca could help save Green Belt

Residents who have been campaigning to protect the Green Belt around Wilmslow believe that AstraZeneca's decision to relocate 1600 R&D staff from Alderley Park to Cambridge, and make a further 550 redundant, will have a significant impact on the need for housing in Wilmslow and could help their fight to protect the Green Belt.

As a result of the restructure, AstraZeneca, which currently employs 2,900 people at Alderley Park, announced last week that only 700 non R&D are expected to remain at the site by 2016.

As part of the Local Plan consultation Cheshire East Council has said that 400 new homes are required in Wilmslow over the next 20 years but the campaign group Residents of Wilmslow (RoW) say this no longer makes sense because hundreds of houses will be put on the market once the AstraZeneca staff start to move away.

The draft development strategy identifies land to the north of Adlington Road, which is currently safeguarded, where 225 new homes could be built along with 75 homes on green belt and at the Royal London site. The Council also proposes to remove land to the west of Royal London from the Green Belt and designate it as safeguarded land that may be required to serve development needs in the longer term.

In addition they propose to build a new settlement of up to 2300 homes on Green Belt land to the east of the A34 Handforth bypass.

David Lewis of RoW said "In a year or two a considerable number of houses would be up for sale which would at a stroke provide at least the 400 houses said to be needed in Wilmslow alone over the next 20 years largely removing the need for new housing development on brown or green field sites. Whilst the government may still be pressing Cheshire East to provide the same number of houses across the borough this makes no sense at the local level.

"The effect of Astra Zeneca's decision to move out of the area coincides with growing Tory unrest across the whole country about the government's plans for widespread housing development on greenfield sites. Nobody with a modicum of economic sense really believes that the economy can be turned round simply by building houses. There have to be people with the money available to buy them, and to be able to continue making regular long-term payments, and jobs to provide that money."

David Lewis added "From the Wilmslow Trust meeting came a strong call for both Wilmslow Town Councillors and the Wilmslow Cheshire East Councillors to take heed of the wishes of local residents not to build in the Green Belt and to oppose the government's ludicrous drive to build at any cost to the countryside and future generations."

Tags:

AstraZeneca, Local Plan, Residents of Wilmslow