A group of Wilmslow residents has joined together to urge Cheshire East Council to reclassify valuable peatland in Wilmslow as green belt, in order to protect it from development .
Bellway homes have submitted a planning application for a residential development of 133 homes on a 5.43ha site off Cumber Lane. The former green belt site, which was allocated as safeguarded land in Cheshire East's local plan, consists of mainly fields along with four dwellings with associated garages and sheds.
Additionally, Anwyl Homes is planning to construct a residential development of 68 new homes at Upcast Lane. The 4.47ha former green belt site was identified as safeguarded Land in the Local Plan.
The community group Protect Lindow is arguing for the council to reassess its housing site plans in order to prevent the loss of 4.5 hectares of land which includes peatland to housebuilding.
Kevin Rae from Protect Lindow said: "This land is a vital part of our local and national heritage. Peatlands are incredibly important supporters of biodiversity and play a massive role in the world's carbon absorption. This land sits only a few hundred metres away from where the Lindow Man was found preserved in peat, a historical find which put Wilmslow on the map for its peat deposits.
"Cheshire East Council designated this land as being a potential site for housing back in 2013, at which time the fields were not recognised as containing peat. The site was later identified as a site of internationally recognised importance as part of Lindow Moss but the classification of the land didn't change to reflect this, which means that it's now under threat from housebuilding despite being held up as a national example of peatland.
"We believe that if the land had been recognised as having such critical importance back in 2013, the site would never have been removed from the green belt. The council's own Landscape Character Assessment outlines a policy to protect and manage areas of peat and mossland to maximise the biodiversity, spirit of place and maintain the distinctive moss rooms which can be found at this site. We're urging the council to restore this land to its protected state before lasting damage is caused, and to refuse the application from Bellway Homes."
Protect Lindow is calling on the council to revisit the classification of the site before any further residential developments are pursued.
Kevin added: "I'm urging every resident of Wilmslow to support this campaign, object to the Bellway Homes development and help save our green spaces from housebuilding."
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The majority of residents will be totally against these, but how can they voice their objections. Some won’t know, not everybody reads the websites, so is it possible for the group to make all residents aware, and easy for them to object and gather the whole weight of the town against these destructive and unwanted invasions?