Local plan scoping consultation

I am writing to submit my formal response to the Local Plan Scoping Consultation, specifically objecting to any strategic direction that promotes major development on agricultural land and Green Belt, or that exceeds the capacity of our local infrastructure.
• Preservation of Adlington's Rural Identity: Adlington is a small, distinct rural village of approximately 1,200 residents. The local landscape is characterised by over 85% of active, highly productive agricultural land and established forestry. National planning frameworks dictate that councils must protect BMV land to secure food production and ecological resilience. In light of the climate emergency, the new Local Plan must enforce a strict "Brownfield-First" hierarchy. Greenfield locations of this scale and agricultural value should be screened out before any release of Green Belt is even contemplated. This land is an invaluable asset for UK food security, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration. It must be protected from development. The vast scale of the Adlington land submission fundamentally violates the core tenets of national Green Belt policy. If allocated, this development would cause severe "conurbation creep” – see next point.

• Prevention of Urban Sprawl: Any large-scale development in this area will cause irreversible urban sprawl. It would permanently destroy the essential, open rural gap that separates Macclesfield from Poynton and prevents the Greater Manchester conurbation from encroaching further into Cheshire. The Local Plan must maintain strict Green Belt boundaries to keep these settlements distinct.

• Severe Highway Infrastructure Constraints: The current road network is already heavily congested and entirely unsuitable for the massive increase in traffic that new strategic allocations would bring. The network cannot absorb an influx of 30,000 to 40,000 additional residents or the estimated 30,000+ vehicles associated with them. Forcing further car dependency onto rural lanes and regional arteries will result in permanent gridlock and severe safety hazards. Adlington Train Station is unsuitable as it cannot be enlarged or further trains allocated to this line.

• Critical Deficits in Public Services: Local infrastructure is already facing a breaking point. There is a critical shortage of GP surgeries, local schools are over-subscribed, and the regional hospital does not have the capacity to safely manage any population increase. Currently water has to be delivered to Bollington in tankers, which proves the infrastructure cannot already cope. Strategic growth cannot be planned without existing, fully funded, and delivered service infrastructure.

• Sufficient Existing Comitments: Within a 10-mile radius of Adlington, there are already approximately 36,000 approved planning applications for new houses that have yet to be built, of which 5,300 are within 5 miles of Adlington. Cheshire East Council should, as a matter of priority, focus on monitoring and enforcing the delivery of these existing permissions—prioritising a "brownfield first" approach—rather than earmarking new, destructive allocations on precious greenfield and Greenbelt sites.

I urge the Council to adjust the scope of the Local Plan to heavily prioritise urban regeneration and safeguard the rural spaces that define the character of Cheshire East.