Local plan scoping consultation

Dear Sirs
Re: Planned SHELAA land submission for Ashley
We sent a letter regarding a plan for development of Green Belt land at Ashley yesterday
(19th August) believing it to be around 11,000 new homes. We learnt today that it has been
revised down to 1,070 houses with the possible belief that this would be more acceptable for
everyone. This amount is still a huge and unsustainable influx of people to a small, rural
area, an average family size of 4 (and upwards) per home realistically leading to at least
4,000 extra people in a small, country village with very little public transport.
Our concerns re: losing Green Belt land remain. If we lose Green Belt land up and down
the country, how will we ensure our food security? In a time of global insecurity, if we
cannot rely on receiving food and we are no longer able to grow enough of our own, we will
be in serious trouble. We cannot afford to lose this precious commodity in Ashley or
elsewhere.
A final point we omitted in our last letter concerns our nation's collective mental and
physical health. The importance of being outside in nature is constantly explained to us by
healthcare professionals. Depression, stress and anxiety are at an all time high in this
country, with a huge and growing financial cost to the NHS. Doctors are beginning to give
'nature prescriptions' to patients presenting with mild to moderate depression and anxiety as
an alternative to medicine, believing green spaces to be of equal and sometimes greater
benefit than taking pills.
Instead of destroying for ever such a vital resource as Green Belt land, councils everywhere
should make it far easier for builders to renovate existing buildings and also develop
brownfield sites instead. Please consider the long term consequences of losing Green Belt
land for this generation and those to come.

Dear Sirs
Re: Formal Objection to SHELAA Land Submission: 291.03-Hectare Area around
Ashley (12 adjoining sites)
We are writing to formally object to the inclusion of the 291.03-hectare land submission
around Ashley in the Cheshire East Local Plan/SHELAA. The village is small and rural,
lacking essential local infrastructure with very little public transport (no buses and a railway
station with only 1 train an hour). As there is a lack of deep foul sewerage infrastructure or
adequate surface water drainage, any large-scale development of the area would greatly
increase surface water flood risks within the River Bollin catchment.
Every road into the village crosses a narrow bridge, so any large development would create
serious congestion and safety issues, as the extra 1000s of vehicles attempt to move towards
the A538 and M56.
In a time of rapidly increasing global instability, the threat to our food security is now very
real and cannot be ignored. The land proposed for development at Ashley is all Green Belt
and productive farmland [Best and Most Versatile (BMV) agricultural land] and should
therefore be highly valued as a necessary resource for our country.
The area also includes sensitive landscapes, wildlife habitats and listed heritage buildings
that would be permanently damaged by the above proposal.
We request that Cheshire East Council formally classify this 291.03-hectare area (12
adjoining sites totalling 291.03 hectares) as Unsuitable and Undeliverable in the SHELAA
assessment.