Local plan scoping consultation

Dear Strategic Planning Team,

Please accept this email as a late representation in relation to the Local Plan consultation. I had mistakenly understood the closing date to be 2 September rather than 1 September and would be very grateful if my comments could still be taken into account.

I wish to strongly object to the scale of development being considered on Green Belt land in and around Ashley.

The Green Belt around Ashley performs an extremely important function. It preserves the open and rural character of the area, prevents neighbouring settlements from merging into one another and protects countryside which, once developed, cannot realistically be replaced.

I am particularly concerned about the sheer scale of development being contemplated and whether there is any realistic infrastructure available to support it.

Local services are already under significant pressure. GP practices are operating at or close to capacity and school places are extremely limited. Large-scale housing development would inevitably bring a substantial additional population requiring schools, healthcare, roads, public transport and other community facilities.

Ashley is also fundamentally a rural area. The surrounding road network was not designed to accommodate the level of traffic that development on this scale would generate. Adding thousands of homes would have consequences not only for Ashley itself but for the surrounding villages and towns, including increased congestion and pressure on already busy routes.

I do not believe Green Belt land should be released for development of this magnitude without exceptionally compelling evidence that the housing requirement cannot reasonably be met elsewhere and that the necessary infrastructure can genuinely be delivered alongside it.

The cumulative impact must be considered. It is not sufficient simply to identify land capable of accommodating houses; the Council must consider whether the communities, roads, schools, medical services and wider infrastructure are capable of supporting the resulting population.

Ashley’s Green Belt is a finite and irreplaceable resource. Development on the scale currently being discussed would fundamentally alter the rural character of the area and undermine the very purpose for which the Green Belt exists.

I therefore ask Cheshire East Council to reconsider the proposed release and development of Green Belt land around Ashley and to explore less environmentally damaging and more sustainable alternatives.

Thank you for considering my representation, despite it being submitted shortly after the consultation deadline.