Local plan scoping consultation

Good afternoon,
I am writing to object in the strongest possible terms to the inclusion and potential allocation of the land at Ashley promoted by the Tatton Estate for a 1,000-home mixed-use settlement.
This proposal represents inappropriate development that directly violates national and local planning frameworks. The site should be rejected from the Local Plan process based on the following material considerations:
1. Inappropriate Harm to the Green Belt
The entire site consists of protected Green Belt farmland. Under Chapter 13 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), Green Belt boundaries should only be altered in "exceptional circumstances" during the Local Plan review.
• Sprawl and Cohesion: Developing 1,000 homes here fails to meet any exceptional criteria. It directly causes urban sprawl, conflicting with the core purpose of safeguarding the countryside from encroachment.

• No Justification: The developer has demonstrated no exceptional local circumstances that justify releasing hundreds of acres of open agricultural land for a new standalone town.
2. Environmental Degradation and Loss of Wildlife Corridors
The development would cause irreparable harm to the local natural environment and biodiversity.
• Habitat Fragmentation: The proposed site covers vast tracts of open farmland, hedgerows, and mature trees that act as vital wildlife corridors for protected species, including native birds, bats, and small mammals.

• Ecosystem Loss: Replacing these established natural habitats with concrete, tarmac, and residential housing blocks will permanently fragment local ecosystems. It directly undermines local and national targets for Biodiversity Net Gain.
3. Complete Lack of Public Transport and Highway Safety Risks
The location is highly unsustainable from a transport perspective, running completely counter to national policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions.
• Car Dependency: Ashley lacks the frequent, reliable public transport links necessary to support a major new population hub. Residents would be forced to rely almost entirely on private vehicles, drastically increasing carbon footprints and local air pollution.

• Dangerous Rural Lanes: The existing network of narrow, winding country lanes is completely unsuited for thousands of additional daily vehicle movements. These lanes lack pavements and street lighting, meaning the surge in traffic would create severe, unacceptable safety hazards for pedestrians, cyclists, and horse riders using the local network.
4. Severe Impact on Rural Infrastructure and Highways
Ashley is a highly rural parish with a population of fewer than 400 residents. The infrastructure is structurally incapable of absorbing a settlement of this scale.
• Highways Bottlenecks: Traffic will inevitably bottleneck surrounding rural links and severely impact heavily congested surrounding areas, including Hale and Altrincham.

• Local Services: The village lacks the medical, educational, and utility capacity required to sustain this population shift. Forcing reliance onto infrastructure in neighbouring authorities (like Trafford) is unsustainable and creates unmitigated cross-boundary strain.
5. Critical Lack of Utilities Infrastructure (Mains Sewage)
The village does not possess the fundamental utilities infrastructure required to absorb a development of this magnitude.
• No Mains Drainage: Ashley currently lacks a comprehensive mains sewage network, with many existing properties relying on private septic tanks or localised treatment.

• Environmental Risk: Connecting 1,000 new homes to a non-existent or completely inadequate local system poses severe logistical challenges and significant risks of environmental contamination to local watercourses and the water table.
6. Eradication of Rural Character and Local Identity
The scale of this promotion is entirely disproportionate to the existing built environment.
• According to census data, Ashley consists of just over 130 households. Dropping an initial phase of 250 homes—rising eventually to 1,000 homes—would expand the residential footprint by nearly 800%

• This massive "urbanising effect" would permanently alter the natural landform, destroy local landscape character, and replace a distinct historical rural parish with an artificial urban extension.
Conclusion
The promoted site fails fundamental tests of sustainability, infrastructure capacity, utilities viability, and Green Belt protection. I respectfully request that Cheshire East Council protects the integrity of the Cheshire countryside and excludes this site entirely from any future Local Plan allocations.
Caroline Raven Andrews
Former Ashley resident and currently residing in Hale.
13/08/2026