Local plan scoping consultation

I am writing to register a firm formal objection to the inclusion and consideration of the 291.03-hectare land submission around Ashley within the Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA) and the wider Cheshire East Local Plan review.



The submission comprises 12 adjoining and contiguous parcels extending to approximately 291.03 hectares. Taken together, these parcels represent a development opportunity of a scale wholly disproportionate to the existing settlement of Ashley and one which would fundamentally alter the relationship between the village, the surrounding Cheshire countryside and the Greater Manchester urban area.



The evidence indicates that this land is unsuitable, unavailable and undeliverable for strategic development. In particular, it is important that the land is assessed correctly under the current National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and is not treated as Grey Belt simply because it is Green Belt land that could potentially contribute towards meeting housing need.



The principal reasons are set out below.



1. Ashley performs an important strategic Green Belt function

The starting point should be that the Ashley land is Green Belt for a clear spatial reason.

The parish of Ashley is designated as washed-over Green Belt under Cheshire East Local Plan Strategy Policy PG 3. The designation reflects the particular sensitivity of this rural settlement and the importance of maintaining the openness and rural character of the surrounding countryside.
The current NPPF identifies the purposes of Green Belt as including:

• checking the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas;
• preventing neighbouring towns from merging into one another;
• safeguarding the countryside from encroachment;
• preserving the setting and special character of historic towns; and
• assisting urban regeneration.
The Ashley land makes a particularly strong contribution to the first three of these purposes.It is not simply countryside surrounding a small settlement. Its location gives it a strategic spatial function, helping to maintain the remaining open separation between the Greater Manchester urban area, including Trafford, Hale and Altrincham, and the settlements and open countryside of Cheshire East, including Mobberley and Knutsford.Development across 291.03 hectares would therefore not merely enlarge Ashley. It would substantially extend built development southwards and materially weaken the strategic countryside gap between Greater Manchester and Cheshire.This is precisely the type of strategic function for which Green Belt protection exists.
2. The land should not be treated as Grey Belt simply because it is Green BeltThe current NPPF does provide for certain Green Belt land to be identified as Grey Belt. However, this does not create a general presumption that Green Belt land should be released wherever there is a housing requirement. The assessment must be site-specific.