Local plan scoping consultation

[Personal information redacted] the land referenced in Cheshire East’s Local Plan Scoping Consultation as MB08 (CFS26 373). We use the space daily to exercise and walk our dog. I formally object to the inclusion of this site in the Local Plan as a potential housing allocation, for the following reasons:

Green Belt. The site performs an important Green Belt function and maintains the gap between Mobberley and Knutsford. Building on this site would cause real harm that has not been justified.

Aircraft Noise. The site lies within the 60 dB LAeq, 16h daytime noise contour from Manchester Airport. This is at or above the Significant Observed Adverse Effect Level (SOAEL), at which national noise policy states that development should be avoided.

I ask that site MB08 be removed from further consideration as a housing allocation.

Objections:

Green Belt

Cheshire East’s own Green Belt assessment identifies MB08 as making a Major Contribution to Green Belt purposes and specifically identifies the land as part of an essential sub-700m gap between Mobberley and Knutsford.

Development would significantly reduce the actual and perceived separation between the settlements and facilitate further ribbon development and countryside encroachment.

Green Belt was introduced to guard against this form of incremental erosion.

The Council's own evidence identifies this land as performing one of the five Green Belt purposes to a high degree, no exceptional circumstances have been demonstrated that would justify overriding that.

The land is also a well-used amenity for exercise and dog walkers. My family and I use this space daily. The land contains several mature tress and land surveys have already been carried out around the site, including in relation to a bat colony.

Historical site assessments have also identified the surrounding roads and site access as a constraint. The lanes surrounding MB08 are narrow with limited passing places, and most do not have pavements for foot traffic.

Aircraft Noise

Cheshire East’s current Policy ENV 13 (Aircraft Noise) staes that new dwellings will not normally be granted where aircraft noise is above the Significant Observed Adverse Effect Level (SOAEL). Importantly, the Council updated the policy in April 2026, because CAA data showed Manchester Airport’s 2025 air-transport movements had exceeded 2019 levels. The Council has stated that the latest noise contours will therefore be used in decision-making.

Case in point: 2016 Mobberley appeal.

Appeal APP/R0660/W/15/3027388 concerned up to 375 houses at the Harman Technology/Ilford Way site, less than a mile from MB08 and under the same general airport flight-path environment. The Inspector dismissed the appeal.

The key findings were:

Cheshire East’s position was that 60 dB LAeq,16h equated to SOAEL.

The Inspector accepted that position.

The proposed housing was within the 60/63 dB contours.

Virtually all the housing was above 60 dB.

The Inspector found that noise would significantly affect everyday activities.

The proposed external noise mitigation was not considered effective.

The Inspector concluded that significant adverse effects on quality of life would not be avoided.

The decision contains an especially useful observation: aircraft noise was observed to interfere with conversation, gardening, games and social gatherings/BBQs.

A current 2026 representation specifically concerning MB08 states that the land lies within the 2025 60 dB LAeq,16h daytime contour. That representation asks the Council to obtain and use the current Manchester Airport contour data.

The Inspector further noted that aircraft numbers were likely to increase and considered the effects of airport capacity and expansion.

Why is the Council now considering housing on MB08 at a noise level which it previously argued constituted SOAEL, and which an independent Planning Inspector found unacceptable for residential development in the same village?

Conclusion

Site MB08 should be removed from consideration as a housing allocation.

Building on the MB08 would cause irreversible harm to the Green Belt that has not been justified. The land is used extensively by local residents for exercise and dog walkers and is a performs a critical function in preventing urban sprawl, as the gap between Mobberley and Knutsford at this point is 700m.

The site sits within the 60 dB LAeq,16h daytime aircraft noise contour, which is at the level Cheshire East treats as SOAEL National policy directs that development should be avoided at this level of noise.

In 2016 a planning Inspector refused a housing scheme less than a mile from this site on the grounds of noise nuisance.