Local plan scoping consultation

Dear Strategic Planning Team,
Please accept the comments below as my formal representation to the Cheshire East New Local Plan Scoping Consultation.
(REDACTED).
I appreciate that the sites shown are submissions at this stage rather than proposed allocations. However, I would like my comments to be taken into account when the Council considers the suitability of this land and develops the new Local Plan. I would also be grateful if you could ensure I am notified of future consultation stages concerning this site.
Former Salt Line railway corridor
Of particular importance is the former railway line which runs alongside/close to this site.
This is effectively the continuation of the old railway alignment used by the Salt Line. The formally developed and surfaced section of the Salt Line currently terminates further west, but the old railway alignment continues eastwards towards Church Lawton. Although this section has never been developed to the same standard as the main Salt Line, it remains in existence and is regularly used by local people for walking and recreation.
This is important because Cheshire East's own Green Infrastructure Plan 2019–2030 specifically identifies an aspiration to extend the Salt Line along the dismantled railway east of Sandbach Road North, along the northern edge of Alsager towards the Trent & Mersey Canal, recognising the opportunity this provides for recreation and active travel.
I therefore believe it would be inappropriate to consider the adjoining land for housing without first assessing the potential effect upon this strategic green-infrastructure opportunity. Development should not prejudice the possibility of enhancing and extending this route in future.
Furthermore, the value of such a route is not simply the width of the path itself. People use these former railway routes because they provide access to and views across the surrounding countryside, away from roads and built development. Housing immediately alongside the route would fundamentally change its rural character and recreational experience.
Landscape character and loss of countryside
The land currently provides an important open and rural setting on the edge of the existing settlement. Development would introduce a substantial area of built form into what is presently open countryside and would materially change the character of this part of Sandbach Road and Church Lawton.
The impact would be experienced not only by the properties adjoining the site but also by the many people who currently use the former railway alignment as a walking route.
The Council should therefore undertake a proper landscape and visual impact assessment, including views from the former railway corridor and other publicly accessible locations, rather than assessing the site solely in terms of its relationship with existing houses.
Green Belt
I understand that land in this part of Church Lawton has historically formed part of the Green Belt. Before this site is considered for allocation, its current Green Belt status and the contribution it makes to Green Belt purposes should be clearly established.
If development would require Green Belt boundaries to be altered, I believe the Council should demonstrate why this particular site needs to be released and why housing requirements cannot reasonably be accommodated on brownfield land, previously developed land or other sites which would cause less harm.
There is also an important cumulative consideration. Plot 2 should not be assessed in isolation from the other substantial areas around Alsager and Church Lawton which have been submitted for development. Taken together, these sites have the potential to create significant outward expansion of the existing built-up area and progressively erode the countryside separating settlements.
Wildlife and ecological connectivity
The former railway corridor and adjoining fields, hedgerows and trees should also be properly assessed as a connected ecological network rather than simply considering the development field in isolation.
Cheshire East itself recognises the ecological value that disused railway corridors can provide. Before any allocation is contemplated, there should therefore be appropriate habitat and species surveys and an assessment of whether development would damage or fragment existing wildlife corridors.
Particular consideration should be given to established hedgerows, mature trees, bats, birds and other protected or priority species and to the role that the former railway alignment may play in allowing wildlife to move through the wider landscape.
Highways, drainage and local infrastructure
I would also ask the Council to assess carefully whether additional residential development in this location can be accommodated by Sandbach Road and the surrounding highway network and whether safe and appropriate access can actually be achieved.
Similarly, the effect upon drainage and surface-water run-off needs proper consideration before previously undeveloped land is allocated for housing, together with the cumulative pressure from further housing upon schools, healthcare and other facilities serving Church Lawton and Alsager.
Conclusion
For these reasons, I do not believe Plot 2 should be taken forward as a preferred housing allocation without considerably more detailed assessment.
In particular, I believe the Council should give significant weight to the relationship between this land and the former Salt Line railway corridor. Cheshire East's own Green Infrastructure Plan identifies the potential extension of the Salt Line eastwards along this dismantled railway as an opportunity for recreation and active travel. Allocating adjoining land for housing without protecting that opportunity and its rural setting would appear inconsistent with that strategic objective.
I would therefore ask that Plot 2 is not selected for development and that, instead, consideration is given to protecting and enhancing the former railway corridor and its surrounding green setting, potentially allowing the existing Salt Line recreational route to be extended towards Church Lawton and the Trent & Mersey Canal in the future.
I would be grateful if you could confirm receipt of this representation and that it will be recorded as part of the Local Plan consultation.