Plans for 14 houses at Lindow Moss

by Lisa Reeves

Tuesday 14^th January 2014

Tue 14^th Jan 2014

The owners of the Lindow Moss peat extraction and processing site off Moor Lane are seeking permission to build houses on part of the site.

They are proposing to restore the 28 hectares peat extraction site to a natural wetland habitat (i.e. a raised bog) provided they can build 14 detached houses on the 2 hectare peat processing site, which lies immediately south of the peat extraction site.

A similar proposal was put forward in 2008 for a scheme which sought to cease the excavation of peat, restore the peat extraction site to a natural wetland habitat and build 32 dwellings (a mixture of houses and apartments) on the peat processing site, but this was never progressed.

Tony Evans, Hon. Secretary of Saltersley Common Preservation Society, said "My view is that allowing the proposal to go through and stopping the peat extraction is the lesser of two evils, although how they propose to restore a peat bog that has taken 1000 years or more to develop should be interesting.

"It would also be interesting to see how they will tackle the problem of subsidence which is occurring around the site. I am sure people buying new houses would want some long term guarantee against this."

In advance of a planning application being submitted, the owners of the land Mr A Rowland and Mr R Bond are inviting local residents to a public exhibition where their proposals for the development of the site will be on display.

The exhibition will be held on Friday 24th January, from 4pm to 8pm, and Saturday 25th January, from 10am to 2pm, in the restaurant at Ned Yates Garden Centre on Moor Lane.

Alistair Yates, Senior Planning & Design Consultant at Axis Planning, said "The exhibition will be staffed by members of the project team who will be available to explain the proposal in more detail and answer any questions that might arise."

Tags:: Lindow Moss

Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Marianne Martyn

Tuesday 14^th January 2014 at 1:30 pm

Sounds as daft as building on a flood plain. Why add more homes to an area which is suffering so badly from subsidence? And unless the wetlands can be restored, the excavated site will be quite an eyesore for the residents....

James Lamplugh

Tuesday 14^th January 2014 at 2:13 pm

I'm all for sustainable development but building on a peat bog doesn't sound very sustainable to me? Also where would the builders and increased traffic gain access to the site without impacting the environment and surrounding countryside?

Pete Taylor

Tuesday 14^th January 2014 at 2:18 pm

As far as I can see this site was not identified for housing in either the CEC Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment or the Wilmslow Vision. Presumably it is now being proposed due to CEC not having a Local Plan in place identifying a 5-year housing supply?

Brownfield first? Peat extraction is an agricultural process, where the harvest is the decayed plant matter which forms the peat.

Simon Worthington

Tuesday 14^th January 2014 at 2:43 pm

How about starting wiith a detailed plan for the restoration, then when we have all stopped laughing kick out this attempt at bribery.

Terry Roeves

Tuesday 14^th January 2014 at 7:00 pm

Let's take a look before we form a view. Restoration of the site won't be free. Usually with surface extraction the owner has to return the site to its original state.
If not, 14 houses may be a reasonable price to pay if Wilmslow gains an asset to be proud of, with free access of course.

Rob Sawyer

Tuesday 14^th January 2014 at 7:20 pm

I think Tony Evans and Terry Roeves make good points. People should attend the exhibition, ask pertinent questions of the developers, and then form an opinion. The rapid mechanical extraction is really making a mess of a beautiful area of Wilmslow and I'd like to see it stop as soon as possible - as to whether this is the best (or least unpleasant) way of making it happen we shall see.

Miles Grady

Tuesday 14^th January 2014 at 7:46 pm

Shocking! Don 't agree with development on beautiful green fields when the government is encouraging development in town centres and conversion of unused farm buildings. Plenty of brown sites can meet the so called demand.

Dave Cash

Wednesday 15^th January 2014 at 5:50 am

I suppose the peat processing plant could be regarded as an established brownfield site within the green belt, though peat extraction ceased c 2009
The nearby planning application for a single traveller site development AIUI was partly refused due to increased traffic on a single lane road and subsequent Moor La / Cumber La
This latest planning application could result in a min of 28 additional vehicle movements/day
There are local rumours the adjacent Ned Yates Garden Centre may be s old to housing developers

Wednesday 15^th January 2014 at 9:35 am

The Ned Yates site (area 3426 in the SHLA) is identified for 100 houses, land adjacent to Rotherwood Road on the eastern side (area 3282) for 30 houses and land between Ned Yates and the western side of Rotherwood Road (area 3667) for 22 houses. Total 152 houses plus the 14 in this proposal = 166 new houses.
Apart from the massive amount of traffic generated by residents there would be deliveries, council vehicles, visitors etc.
All the local Primary Schools plus the High School are full to capacity; the medical facilities in Wilmslow seem to be creaking.
On the plus side, there are plenty of hairdressers' shops.

Barbara Hughson

Wednesday 15^th January 2014 at 11:10 am

Houses built on jelly with a gypsy site across the field. Should be really popular, think I'll put my name down!

Wednesday 15^th January 2014 at 12:31 pm

Dave - peat extraction did not cease in 2009 - it continues. In fact it has accelerated over the past couple of years as Croghan Peat Industries (the landowner) have allowed other companies such as Scotts, to extract from there. If anyone takes a walk along the Rotherwood Road bridlepath they will see the depths that have been excavated to.

Oliver Romain

Friday 17^th January 2014 at 8:38 am

If the peat extraction license can be permanently revoked this sounds like an interesting plan. Need to make sure its not just a promise from the current owner with no legal permanence. Where are the brownfield sites so often mentioned? Anybody with brownfield land in Wilmslow will have developed it by now surely.

Chris Boothman

Sunday 19^th January 2014 at 8:20 pm

The volume of peat extraction in 2013 was I suspect a record amount. Firstly because it was a dry summer for a change and secondly because prior to making a revised offer they wanted to remove as much material as possible. Allowing them to build fourteen houses on the processing site would seem like the only way many of us will ever see an end to the vandalism that has blighted the area we live in. They claim they will restore the remainder of the site, but in fact all they can really do is level off the land, which is dramatically lower than the surrounding tracks. Building houses so close to this large land excavation would seem crazy but with such a lot of money to be made in new property I am not suprised. Anyone buying a home will need to ensure there have done their homework before signing up. For sure there will be more private vehicles using Moor Lane, but no peat trucks. If the long awaited Moor Lane resurfacing takes place it could actually be a better road for all users. This proposal could be the only we will ever see a nature reserve. It will be interesting to see the exhibition this week.

Monday 20^th January 2014 at 3:42 am

There is an additional danger to permitting this proposed development unless CEC clearly defines the permitted brownfield site and confirms the extraction site as 'greenfield', exempt from development.