The new Local Plan proposed by Cheshire East Council last week will see Wilmslow taking the burden of a disproportionately high 14.5% of all 'safeguarded' land in the borough, land set aside for possible future development. It also proposes more development than was previously drafted and consulted upon in January this year.
Local lobby group Residents of Wilmslow are disappointed to see that 40 hectares of greenbelt land at Upcast Lane/Cumber Lane and Prestbury Road have been 'safeguarded' for development from 2030 in the latest draft of the Local Plan. Furthermore an additional 6 hectares of land in the greenbelt behind Royal London between the railway and the Wilmslow bypass have been earmarked for commercial development; a site which has not been previously put to public consultation, despite the Cheshire East Council claims that this is the case.
The group estimates that 40 hectares could accommodate around 1,000 houses, and represents a disproportionately high 14.5% of all the land safeguarded in the whole of Cheshire East, larger than the proposed North Wilmslow Growth Development village to the East of Handforth.
The overwhelming view expressed, following the consultation on the draft Plan in January this year, was that residents did not want to see any development in the greenbelt around Wilmslow. This view has been totally ignored despite Residents of Wilmslow's research presented to the CEC which shows that the allocation of the development of 400 homes for Wilmslow can be achieved with small windfall developments entirely on brown field sites, thereby casting doubt on the need to build on the Adlington Road and Royal London as sites proposed in the Plan.
In proposing the mixed commercial and residential development of the Royal London site, the Council does not seem to take into consideration the imminent availability of commercial space nearby at Alderley Park once Astra Zeneca move their research facility to Cambridge and the new provisions at neighbouring Airport City. Additionally, a large facility has recently been built for Waters on Altrincham Road and there remain a large number of empty offices in and around Wilmslow.
Residents of Wilmslow feel that not only have CE Councillors ignored feedback from the local residents, but they have added additional sites without consultation. 80% of respondents to the Wilmslow Vision consultation were opposed to development of the safeguarded areas in the greenbelt being developed. Cheshire East has spent huge sums on this exercise only to ignore the results.
A Residents of Wilmslow spokesperson said, "The purpose of green belt is to prevent urban sprawl. The law states that green belt boundaries can only be altered in "exceptional circumstances". How can this erosion of valuable green belt land be justified? What are the exceptional circumstances? We recommend the Plan be changed to reflect the requirements of the green belt and Wilmslow's residents stated wishes. It is unclear as yet as to whether this draft will go to further public consultation, but it seems unlikely, we urge all concerned residents to make their opinions known to their local Cheshire East and Wilmslow Town Council representatives."
Member post by Sarah Greenwood.
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