Local plan scoping consultation

I am writing to strongly object to the following sites submitted in Mobberley by Cheshire East for the Strategic Planning and Local Plan:

4 Pockets of Land along BroadOak Lane / Pepper Street and Smith Lane
Land Between Ryecroft Lane and Pavement Lane
Land between Railway and Smith Lane
Land East/West of Pepper Street
Land north of Town Lane
Land West of Smith Lane

Mobberley is a small rural village with a distinct character. Lying between the larger towns of Knutsford, Wilmslow and Altrincham. It retains much of the character of such a village, including the narrow unpavemented country lanes.

It is served with a small number of local amenities such as school and doctors’ surgery, with the surrounding towns offering much more in the way of amenities and employment.

The surrounding fields of Mobberley (such as those in the proposed plans) offer not only useful agricultural land and a haven for wildlife but many public rights of way which offer rural recreational access for both local residents and residents of the neighbouring towns looking to escape town life.

Mobberley does not have huge employment opportunities and does not have good fast multi-lane road or public transport links to the surrounding sites of major employment (Manchester Airport, Manchester City Centre, Stockport and the surrounding towns): a single train per hour on the Chester-Manchester line is often already very crowded during commuting times. Bus-routes are limited (especially from the sites suggested). The lanes are narrow without pavements which would prove dangerous for pedestrians and the already heavy traffic using these lanes as a ‘cut through’ when travelling between local towns would experience much heavier traffic, making it dangerous for cyclists and equestrians who often use them, and reducing air quality with increased pollution.

In particular the lanes around REDACTED (Slade Lane, Smith Lane and Station Road) have major Singletrack bottlenecks which would be complex to overcome: the bridges over Mobberley Brook on Slade Lane and Station Road and the railway bridge on Smith Lane.

These areas are also directly under the flight path for Manchester Airport, with loud noise from the both the low-flying aircraft and the vortices created afterwards.

Traffic is already heavy on these roads, with drivers often driving too quickly and putting pedestrian lives at risk. With the proposed new developments the traffic would be a major bottlenecks- not only with residents from the new properties but from service traffic, increasing delays and creating an increased road safely risk, as well as increasing traffic in the surrounding towns of Altrincham, Knutsford and Wilmslow.

As well as the huge strain on transport infrastructure, the village would struggle to support a greatly increased population with schools, GP surgeries etc. Without this infrastructure further commuting would be required.

In summary, the planning sites suggested would greatly change the character of this small Cheshire Village into a more urban environment. It would have a negative impact on local wildlife, pollution, decreasing road safety and greatly increasing traffic congestion, whilst putting local amenities under great strain.

In particular, the site proposed between the Railway and Smith Lane and West of Smith Lane would create traffic bottlenecks and road safety issues.

I would suggest looking at brownfield sites would be a far better plan rather than sacrificing established green belt land. In particular, with both the M6 and M56 motorways being close by, sites closer to these motorways would allow residents of the new properties to easily access the local motorway network, with faster access to the larger centres of employment and avoid creating traffic issues on the small lanes of Mobberley and surrounding towns.

Let’s keep Mobberley as a village and avoid development sprawl making it a suburb of Manchester

I am writing to strongly object to the following sites submitted in Mobberley by Cheshire East for the Strategic Planning and Local Plan:

4 Pockets of Land along BroadOak Lane / Pepper Street and Smith Lane
Land Between Ryecroft Lane and Pavement Lane
Land between Railway and Smith Lane
Land East/West of Pepper Street
Land north of Town Lane
Land West of Smith Lane


Mobberley is a small rural village with a distinct character. Lying between the larger towns of Knutsford, Wilmslow and Altrincham. It retains much of the character of such a village, including the narrow unpavemented country lanes.

It is served with a small number of local amenities such as school and doctors’ surgery, with the surrounding towns offering much more in the way of amenities and employment.

The surrounding fields of Mobberley (such as those in the proposed plans) offer not only useful agricultural land and a haven for wildlife but many public rights of way which offer rural recreational access for both local residents and residents of the neighbouring towns looking to escape town life.

Mobberley does not have huge employment opportunities and does not have good fast multi-lane road or public transport links to the surrounding sites of major employment (Manchester Airport, Manchester City Centre, Stockport and the surrounding towns): a single train per hour on the Chester-Manchester line is often already very crowded during commuting times. Bus-routes are limited (especially from the sites suggested). The lanes are narrow without pavements which would prove dangerous for pedestrians and the already heavy traffic using these lanes as a ‘cut through’ when travelling between local towns would experience much heavier traffic, making it dangerous for cyclists and equestrians who often use them, and reducing air quality with increased pollution.

In particular the lanes around my property (Slade Lane, Smith Lane and Station Road) have major Singletrack bottlenecks which would be complex to overcome: the bridges over Mobberley Brook on Slade Lane and Station Road and the railway bridge on Smith Lane.

Traffic is already heavy on these roads, with drivers often driving too quickly and putting pedestrian lives at risk. With the proposed new developments the traffic would be a major bottlenecks- not only with residents from the new properties but from service traffic, increasing delays and creating an increased road safely risk, as well as increasing traffic in the surrounding towns of Altrincham, Knutsford and Wilmslow.

As well as the huge strain on transport infrastructure, the village would struggle to support a greatly increased population with schools, GP surgeries etc. Without this infrastructure further commuting would be required.

In summary, the planning sites suggested would greatly change the character of this small Cheshire Village into a more urban environment. It would have a negative impact on local wildlife, pollution, decreasing road safety and greatly increasing traffic congestion, whilst putting local amenities under great strain.

In particular, the site proposed between the Railway and Smith Lane and West of Smith Lane would create traffic bottlenecks and road safety issues.

I would suggest looking at brownfield sites would be a far better plan rather than sacrificing established green belt land. In particular, with both the M6 and M56 motorways being close by, sites closer to these motorways would allow residents of the new properties to easily access the local motorway network, with faster access to the larger centres of employment and avoid crating traffic issues on the small lanes of Mobberley and surrounding towns.

Let’s keep Mobberley as a village and avoid development sprawl making it a suburb of Manchester