Local plan scoping consultation

**Cheshire East New Local Plan Scoping Consultation – Site 4376, Land to the West of Poynton Coppice**

I am a resident whose property directly adjoins Site 4376\. My rear garden backs almost immediately onto this land and my home overlooks the site\.

I strongly oppose the allocation or release of Site 4376 for residential development and ask Cheshire East Council to retain this land as Green Belt\.

My objection is based upon the following planning considerations\.

### 1\. Site 4376 performs an important Green Belt function

Site 4376 is a substantial area of open Green Belt countryside on the edge of Poynton\.

Development on this scale would represent a major and permanent encroachment of the built\-up area into open countryside and would fundamentally alter the character and openness of this part of Poynton\.

The Council should give substantial weight to the contribution this land makes to Green Belt purposes and should not assume that previously undeveloped Green Belt should be released simply because it has been submitted through the call\-for\-sites process\.

There is also a particularly relevant recent planning decision on Waterloo Road in which Cheshire East’s Northern Planning Committee concluded that the Green Belt land concerned made a strong contribution to Green Belt purposes and did not meet the definition of Grey Belt\.

I believe the same issues require particularly careful consideration before Site 4376 could ever be considered suitable for allocation\.

### 2\. Existing surface\-water and drainage problems

This is one of my greatest concerns as an adjoining resident\.

My property directly borders the site and I personally observe significant water collection and surface\-water runoff from this land during periods of rainfall\.

This is therefore not simply a theoretical concern about what might happen following development\. Water already collects and moves across this land\.

Cheshire East’s own previous assessment of Site 4376 identified it as a potential flood\-risk area and specifically stated that surface\-water runoff should be calculated\.

Development of potentially hundreds of homes would introduce extensive areas of roofs, roads, driveways and other impermeable surfaces onto what is presently greenfield land\.

Before this site could even be considered for allocation, I believe Cheshire East must have robust, independent evidence demonstrating how such a scale of development could be accommodated without increasing surface\-water or flood risk to existing adjoining properties\.

Particular consideration should be given to the existing direction and volume of runoff and the properties immediately adjoining the site\.

### 3\. Cumulative traffic impact on Dickens Lane, Waterloo Road and surrounding roads

Traffic in this part of Poynton has already increased significantly in recent years\.

Residents have experienced substantial additional development, including the Copperfield development, bringing hundreds of additional homes into this part of Poynton\.

Any assessment of Site 4376 must therefore consider the **cumulative** impact of existing and recently completed development rather than assessing another major housing allocation in isolation\.

The historic assessment of Site 4376 identified a potential capacity of approximately 670 dwellings\. Development approaching anything like that scale could generate a very significant number of additional vehicle movements\.

I am particularly concerned about the effect on Dickens Lane, Waterloo Road and the surrounding network, including congestion and pedestrian and highway safety\.

A comprehensive cumulative Transport Assessment should be undertaken before this site is considered suitable for allocation\.

### 4\. Wildlife, hedgerows and ecological connectivity

The site is established open countryside containing fields, hedgerows and trees and is used by wildlife\.

As a resident directly adjoining the land, I regularly observe wildlife using the area\.

Cheshire East’s own previous assessment identified biodiversity as an issue requiring consideration\.

Development of this scale would not simply involve constructing houses on an empty field\. It would introduce buildings, roads, vehicles, domestic activity, pets and artificial lighting across a substantial area of currently undeveloped countryside\.

The resulting habitat fragmentation and disturbance should be properly assessed through independent ecological evidence before any decision is made about the future of this land\.

### 5\. Scale of development

The historic assessment identified Site 4376 as approximately 22\.4 hectares with a potential capacity of around 670 dwellings\.

That represents a potentially enormous expansion in this particular location\.

The issue should therefore not simply be whether houses can physically be accommodated on the land, but whether an expansion of this magnitude is appropriate and sustainable for this part of Poynton when its cumulative effects on roads, drainage, schools, healthcare and other infrastructure are considered\.

### 6\. Impact upon existing residential amenity

My home is one of the properties that would be directly affected by development of this land\.

My rear garden backs almost immediately onto Site 4376 and my home currently overlooks open countryside\.

I recognise that residents do not have a planning right to retain a particular view\. My concern is instead the potential effect of a large residential development immediately adjoining existing homes through overlooking, loss of privacy, noise, artificial lighting and an overbearing change in character\.

If this site progresses any further through the Local Plan process, protection of the amenity of existing adjoining residents must be an important consideration when assessing its suitability and potential capacity\.

### 7\. The cumulative effect on Poynton

Finally, I am concerned about the wider principle of repeatedly adding large housing developments around Poynton and then considering the release of further Green Belt to accommodate still more development\.

The consequences of previous growth are already apparent to residents, particularly through increased traffic\.

Green Belt designation exists for a reason\. Once a substantial area such as Site 4376 is released and developed, that open countryside is permanently lost\.

I therefore ask Cheshire East Council not to allocate Site 4376 for residential development and to retain its Green Belt status\.

I would also ask the Council, when assessing this site, to give particular weight to:

- its contribution to Green Belt purposes;
- existing drainage and surface\-water conditions;
- independent ecological evidence;
- the cumulative highway impact of recent development in Poynton;
- the scale of development previously envisaged for the site; and
- the effect upon existing neighbouring residents and infrastructure\.