Local plan scoping consultation

Comment

Representation ID: 1537

Received: 13/08/2026

Respondent: Mark Swaine

Dear Strategic Planning Team,

As a resident of Lanreath Close in Macclesfield, I am concerned that the town cannot cope with further pressure on schools, doctors, leisure facilities and the hospital, and I would like the new Local Plan to prioritise brownfield sites over greenfield ones if additional homes are truly needed. I am asking that the scope, vision, objectives and evidence base of the Local Plan properly reflect these concerns and include clear requirements for infrastructure and safeguards.

Roads and access
Birtles Road, Whirley Road and Sandy Lane are narrow country roads with constrained sections, limited passing places and no continuous pavements. They are already used by walkers, cyclists, horse riders, agricultural vehicles and cars. The Weaver Green development highlighted safety concerns; planning permission 17/4277M required its vehicle access to be from Chelford Road and explicitly prohibited access onto Whirley Road “in the interests of highway safety.” That decision does not automatically rule out future developments, but it demonstrates that the council has recognised safety problems on Whirley Road. If the council now believes these roads can support more large housing sites, it should provide clear evidence explaining why. The council should assess all proposed sites around Greenside together, as looking at sites in isolation could underestimate the cumulative traffic on Whirley Road, Birtles Road, Sandy Lane, Chelford Road and Broken Cross. Safe access, pavements, cycle routes and any necessary road widening should be demonstrated as genuinely feasible before land is allocated, rather than left to be resolved later.

Infrastructure
Housing should only be planned where schools, doctors, drainage, public transport, utilities and roads can cope. The council should specify what extra infrastructure each growth option would require, the cost, who would pay and when it would be delivered. It should also consider whether road improvements would necessitate removal of hedgerows, trees and verges or alter the rural character of the area.

Landscape, nature and drainage
Development around Greenside could create ribbon or finger-like development extending beyond the current edge of Macclesfield. The council should assess the impact on the wider landscape, views, field patterns and the rural setting of places such as Roewood Farm. The area contains ponds, mature hedgerows, trees and wildlife links, with the former-quarry Local Wildlife Site nearby; these features should be surveyed properly and considered together rather than treated separately after a site is chosen. Local concerns about heavy clay, standing water and surface-water flooding should be investigated through proper seasonal drainage work. Electricity pylons, easements and other constraints should be accounted for before estimating how many homes a site could realistically provide.

Please take these points into account when defining the scope of the new Local Plan and preparing the next consultation stage. I would also welcome a clear account of how consultation responses have influenced the plan.

Yours faithfully,
Mark Swaine