Local plan scoping consultation

Response to Cheshire East Local Plan Scoping Consultation
Proposed Development at Ashley and its Impact on Neighbouring Communities
Submitted by Laura Evans
I am responding to the consultation because I am particularly concerned about the potential scale of development around Ashley and the effect it could have both on the village itself and on neighbouring communities in South Trafford.
I recognise the need for new homes and understand that sites put forward through the Local Plan process are not automatically going to be developed. However, the amount of land that has been put forward around Ashley raises legitimate questions about what the future of this area could look like.
My overriding concern is straightforward: where is the infrastructure going to come from to support substantial development at Ashley?
New houses bring new residents. Those residents need school places, doctors, dentists, roads, public transport, emergency services, drainage and utilities.
Ashley sits immediately alongside Trafford. It is unrealistic to assume that the consequences of development will conveniently stop at the council boundary.
We need clarity about what is actually proposed at Ashley
There has been considerable confusion about the potential scale of development at Ashley.
Different figures have been discussed publicly, from an initial development of around 250 homes, through approximately 1,000 to 1,100 homes, to a much larger longer-term figure of around 11,000 homes associated with earlier submissions and discussions.
I understand that Tatton Estate has subsequently said that it is not promoting an 11,000-home development and that some of the land previously submitted has been withdrawn.
That clarification is important, but it also demonstrates the difficulty residents have faced in understanding precisely what is being considered.
When such substantially different figures have been associated with the same area during the Local Plan process, Cheshire East should make the position completely transparent.
• which Ashley sites are still being considered;
• which have been withdrawn;
• what level of housing is currently envisaged;
• whether withdrawn land could be considered again later; and
• what infrastructure assumptions are being made for the remaining sites.
This is not a minor issue. The infrastructure requirements for 250 homes are clearly very different from those for 1,100 homes or anything substantially larger.
However, even around 1,100 homes would represent major development for Ashley and could have significant consequences for neighbouring Trafford communities.
Ashley needs its own education solution
My greatest concern is secondary school places.
Where are the children living in a substantial new Ashley development expected to go to school?
South Trafford schools already face considerable demand. Development in Cheshire East should not proceed on an assumption that schools in Hale, Altrincham or elsewhere in Trafford will simply absorb the additional pupils.
If development at Ashley generates the need for substantial additional secondary capacity, Cheshire East should provide that capacity on its side of the boundary.
If the number of homes means a new secondary school is required, then that school should be part of the plan from the beginning. Land should be identified, funding secured and the school delivered before the development reaches the point where those places are required.
The same applies to primary schools and SEND provision.
We should not build the houses first and ask where the children are going to school afterwards.
Infrastructure should be in place in advance of the demand it is intended to serve.
Where will Ashley's residents find a doctor or dentist?
The same basic question applies to healthcare.
Where will potentially thousands of additional residents register with a GP? Where will they find an NHS dentist? What additional pressure will be placed on pharmacies, community health services and hospitals?
Ashley does not have the healthcare infrastructure necessary to absorb substantial population growth in isolation. It is therefore entirely foreseeable that residents could look towards neighbouring areas, including South Trafford, for services.
Cheshire East should quantify that demand before deciding how much development Ashley can sustainably accommodate.
If additional surgeries, healthcare facilities or dental capacity are needed, they should form part of the infrastructure plan rather than being left for existing services to absorb.
Ashley traffic will inevitably reach Trafford
Ashley is geographically close to Hale, Altrincham, Manchester Airport and the M56.
A significant proportion of journeys generated by new homes at Ashley could therefore head towards Greater Manchester.
The rural road network around Ashley was not designed for the volume of traffic that could accompany major development.
A transport assessment must consequently look beyond the roads immediately surrounding a development site.
It needs to follow those journeys into Hale, Hale Barns, Bowdon and Altrincham and assess the effect on already busy roads and junctions.
The fact that a road crosses a local authority boundary does not make the traffic disappear.
Ashley railway station and the Hale level crossing
Ashley railway station will understandably feature in discussions about sustainable transport.
But there is another side to that argument which must be examined.
If significant development at Ashley generates additional demand for rail travel, there may eventually be pressure for more frequent trains or increased rail capacity.
Those trains continue through Hale.
At the Hale level crossing, every barrier closure stops road traffic completely.
If development at Ashley ultimately leads to additional train movements, Cheshire East and the relevant transport authorities need to understand what that means for the frequency and duration of closures at Hale.
More closures could mean longer queues and increased congestion, affecting residents, buses, businesses, school journeys and potentially emergency vehicles.
It would therefore be wrong simply to say that Ashley has a railway station and conclude that the transport problem has been solved.
The consequences of increasing rail capacity must be assessed alongside the consequences for the Hale road network.
Police, fire and ambulance services
New homes also mean additional demands on police, Fire & Rescue and ambulance services.
These services have finite resources. They cannot simply be expected to cover substantial population growth by spreading existing resources more thinly.
Cheshire East should consult the relevant emergency services before determining the appropriate scale of development at Ashley.
There is also a relationship between this and the transport issue. More congestion can make it harder for emergency vehicles to respond quickly, so population growth, road capacity and emergency-service provision need to be considered together.
Drainage, sewage and flooding
There are equally important questions about the physical infrastructure beneath the development.
Can the existing sewer network accommodate substantial additional housing? What upgrades would be required? How will surface water be managed? What are the consequences for the River Bollin catchment and downstream communities?
These questions need answers before development is committed to, not after problems emerge.
Necessary drainage, sewage and utility improvements should be funded and delivered in advance of, or in step with, development.
Protecting Ashley's identity
Ashley is not simply an available area of land between larger settlements.
Its rural setting and the surrounding countryside help give the village its identity.
That countryside also provides an important physical separation between Cheshire and Greater Manchester, including between Ashley and Hale.
Substantial development could fundamentally alter that relationship.
There is a danger that successive developments, each considered individually, gradually erode the countryside until communities that were once clearly separate begin to merge.
Once that open land has been developed, it cannot simply be restored later.
The effect on Ashley's character, landscape and the Green Belt should therefore carry significant weight when future sites are assessed.
Ashley cannot be considered entirely on its own
Although Ashley is my principal concern, Cheshire East also needs to look at the wider development picture.
Potential development around Rostherne and Mobberley could place additional demands on some of the very same roads, schools, healthcare services, emergency services and transport infrastructure.
It would be misleading to conclude that a particular amount of development at Ashley is sustainable without considering what else may be developed nearby.
The cumulative impact of Ashley, Rostherne and Mobberley should therefore form part of the evidence used to determine how much development this wider area can realistically support.
Conclusion
My concern is principally about Ashley.
I am not arguing that no new homes should ever be built. I am asking Cheshire East to establish what level of development Ashley can actually support before deciding how many houses should be built there.
The questions are basic but important: Where will the children go to school? Where will residents find a GP and an NHS dentist? Can the roads cope? Can the railway accommodate the demand without creating further problems at Hale level crossing? Do the police, Fire & Rescue and ambulance services have sufficient capacity? Can the drainage and sewage infrastructure cope? And what will substantial development do to Ashley itself and the countryside separating Cheshire from Trafford?
Those questions become even more important when development elsewhere around Rostherne and Mobberley is considered alongside Ashley.
For me, the principle is straightforward: decide what infrastructure is required, secure the funding, deliver it in advance of the demand, and then determine what level of development Ashley can sustainably accommodate.
It should not happen the other way around.