Full text:
Dear Planning Policy Team,
I am writing as a resident of Henbury to submit my formal objection to the proposed housing allocations on the Green Belt land situated between Broken Cross and Henbury, currently being reviewed under the new Local Plan scoping process.
While I recognise the borough’s long-term housing targets, the allocation of this specific stretch of land presents severe environmental, infrastructural, and community safety risks. Having already absorbed a major housing development recently, further expansion will completely erode the vital Green Belt buffer that separates our distinct communities, resulting in highly damaging urban sprawl and settlement coalescence.
My specific objections regarding this proposal are detailed below:
1. Loss of Settlement Identity, Historical Heritage, and Coalescence
Henbury is a historic rural settlement with its own distinct identity, community spirit, and heritage roots entirely separate from Macclesfield. A core purpose of the Green Belt is to check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas and prevent neighboring settlements from merging. Developing this land will cause the total coalescence of Macclesfield (Broken Cross) and the village of Henbury. This will permanently destroy the rural character and heritage boundary that defines our community, absorbing us into a featureless urban landscape.
2. Destruction of Irreplaceable Peat Bog, Ponds, and Cumulative Biodiversity Loss
The land in question is highly ecologically sensitive, containing localized peat bog formations and an established pond system that serves as a vital habitat for wildlife. Crucially, a portion of this irreplaceable peat bog has already been built over during the recent housing development on this land. Because part of this carbon sink has already been compromised, the remaining, intact section of the peat bog and its connected pond system have become significantly more ecologically vulnerable and valuable. The Council must assess the cumulative environmental impact of any further allocation here. Excavating or building on the surviving land will cause irreversible habitat decimation and release massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, directly contradicting the Council's statutory duties regarding biodiversity net gain and its own Carbon Neutrality targets.
3. Protection of Existing Agricultural Use, Recreation, and Health
Far from being neglected land, this Green Belt parcel is actively utilized for animal grazing, supporting the local agricultural economy. Furthermore, it serves as a crucial recreational lung for the community, crisscrossed by well-used routes for dog walking, exercise, and outdoor recreation. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) emphasizes the importance of access to open green spaces for mental and physical well-being. Removing this space will strip the community of a valued natural asset, driving residents into cars to find outdoor recreation elsewhere.
4. Encirclement and "Swamping" of Whirley Primary School
The proposed site allocations would completely engulf Whirley Primary School on all sides. This institution is highly valued precisely because of its semi-rural environment, which provides a calm, green, and healthy backdrop for young children's development. Engulfing the school with high-density housing will fundamentally alter its character, effectively transforming a cherished rural school into one completely swamped by a dense urban landscape. This loss of open outlook, coupled with the inevitable rise in localized noise, traffic emissions, and construction disturbance, will severely degrade the learning environment and well-being of the pupils.
5. Severe Impact on School Walking Routes and Active Travel Safety
The proposed development sites cut directly across the established school walking route used by local families travelling from Henbury to Whirley Primary School. Introducing heavy construction traffic, hundreds of daily residential vehicle movements, and additional access junctions will severely compromise the safety of this pedestrian route. This directly contradicts Council policies that aim to encourage safe, active travel for young families, forcing parents to abandon walking in favour of vehicle journeys.
6. Overwhelming Pressure on Volunteer-Led Infrastructure (The Millennium Green)
Henbury’s community cohesion is anchored by local, resident-driven initiatives, most notably the Henbury Millennium Green. This vital public space is maintained entirely by volunteer-led management and local community fundraising. It was designed to serve a rural parish, not a high-density urban extension. Forcing a massive influx of new residents onto this space will overwhelm the volunteer-led infrastructure, accelerate wear-and-tear, and place an unsustainable financial and physical burden on the small team of local volunteers who maintain it.
7. Severe Utility Strain and Existing Infrastructure Deficit (Water Pressure)
The existing utility infrastructure in Henbury and Broken Cross is already operating at maximum capacity, with local residents currently suffering from chronic low water pressure. Under the NPPF, developments must be sustainable and supported by adequate infrastructure. Adding significant demand to a failing network without a pre-funded, strategic upgrade from United Utilities is entirely unsustainable. I request that the Council imposes a strict Grampian Condition on any proposed allocation; no development should be permitted to commence until the water authority has physically upgraded local main capacity to guarantee existing residents do not suffer further degradation of essential services.
8. Traffic Congestion and Air Quality Hazards
The Broken Cross junction and surrounding roads are already notorious for severe gridlock during peak hours. The highway network cannot safely accommodate the hundreds of additional daily vehicle journeys this development would generate. Furthermore, the combination of idling cars during the school run and construction traffic will create an air quality hazard directly outside the primary school gates, undermining the Council’s own Clean Air strategies.
9. Failure to Prioritise Brownfield Sites First
Green Belt land should only be released under "exceptional circumstances". Because this specific area has already absorbed a massive housing development in recent years, the Council has failed to demonstrate the exceptional circumstances required to destroy even more green infrastructure. The Council must exhaustively allocate vacant brownfield sites within Macclesfield town centre and the wider borough before sacrificing irreplaceable Green Belt.
I strongly urge the Council to remove these specific parcels of Green Belt land from future allocation pools, preserve the historic boundary of Henbury, and protect our vital natural peatlands.
Please confirm receipt of this email and ensure my objections are officially registered as part of the public consultation process.
Yours sincerely,
DR Suzanne Pilkington
