Local plan scoping consultation

To: Spatial Planning Team, Cheshire East Council
Subject: Formal Objection to SHELAA Land Submission: 291.03-Hectare Area around Ashley

Formal Representation
I am writing to formally OBJECT to this proposal. This is based on various points:
- Green Belt Protection
- Grey Belt Test
- Settlement Hierarchy
- Transport & Safety
- Loss of Quality Farmland
- Ecological Harm
- Infrastructure Barriers

Green Belt Protection
This land forms a vital, narrow buffer in the North Cheshire Green Belt. It performs anti-sprawl buffer duties between Hale/Trafford and Knutsford/Mobberley. It is Manchester's 'breathing space' and has a "wash-over" Green Belt designation.

"Grey Belt" Test
This productive, open farmland across Ashley strongly fulfils Green Belt functions and has statutory environmental, heritage, and agricultural aspects making it ineligible for grey belt reclassification.

Settlement Hierarchy
Ashley is a small, rural parish with very little public transport, infrastructure or facilities. Allocating large-scale development here violates sustainable development principles, which require growth to be focused on Tier 1 and Tier 2 urban centres.
The area lacks essential local infrastructure capacity for a development of this size, including schools, healthcare facilities, and local employment opportunities required to sustain housing growth.

Transport & Safety
This site does not have the infrastructure to support a development such as this.
- The rail network is wholly incapable of supporting sustainable commuter demand.
- Other public transport options are extremely limited.
- The local highway network consists of narrow rural lanes and even narrower bridges, creating significant structural pinch points.
- Pavements are either extremely narrow, or in many cases, non-existent
The substantial traffic volumes generated by a housing development would cause severe cumulative network congestion and acute road safety risks, in direct conflict with current policy guidance.

Loss of Quality Farmland
The site forms an unbroken area of high-grade farmland vital for regional food security. Both national policy and local policies require development to be directed to brownfield or lower-quality land before such high-quality agricultural land be considered.

Ecological Harm
Development would sever connected wildlife corridors and jeopardize sensitive natural habitats and nature reserves, thus impacting local biodiversity and geodiversity.

Infrastructure Barriers
The area lacks sewerage infrastructure, main electrical grid capacity, and adequate surface water drainage. Large-scale development would significantly increase surface water flood risks within the River Bollin catchment.

Conclusion & Formal Request
This land allocation is fundamentally inappropriate for strategic scale development. It also conflicts with many areas of policy guidance at both national and local level.
I therefore formally request that Cheshire East Council classify all 12 submissions within this site as Unsuitable, Unavailable, and Undeliverable