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My objection to Tatton Estates proposed submission of land surrounding the village of Ashley, in response to the above referenced subject, rests upon the following Key Points:
1. In their covering letter to the Strategic Planning team, dated 31st March 2026, Tatton Estates refer to the land submitted for consideration as Grey Belt Land. Under the rules set down in the national policy to correctly define Grey Belt Land, that earmarked by Tatton Estates fails the test in that it is neither previously developed brownfield land, nor is it land that makes a negligible contribution to Green Belt purposes. It is open, working farmland and, therefore, Green Belt land that acts as a vital buffer against sprawl from neighbouring Hale/Trafford and Knutsford/Mobberly.
2. Also in their letter, Tatton Estates claim that “Significant planned public transport investment is planned nearby, most notably Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR)” this is a project that has as yet an uncertain future. Likewise potential tram/train links between Altrincham, Hale and Manchester Airport via Ashley, which are also referenced, with the suggestion that they offer the potential to further boost Ashley’s long-term sustainability.
Upon reading that assertion, I was surprised to learn that Ashley’s sustainability was ever in question. Such altruism. With regard to the question of transport infrastructure, it would appear that little or no consideration has been given, by Tatton Estates, to the inadequacy of the local road network. Mostly comprising narrow lanes and equally narrow railway bridges. On top of this, there needs to be an awareness of the A538/M56 congestion problem and the simple fact of Ashley’s location, which places a high reliance on personal transport solutions. That is unlikely to change and will hardly be improved by 1000 plus new homes.
3. As a regular visitor to the village from my own home in Kent, one of the most notable differences between this part of Cheshire and my own area is the far wider diversity present in the natural world. When I visit the area I know that I will see wildlife that has been driven to extinction in Kent, both flora and fauna. The UK in general, and England in particular, is the most nature-depleted country in Europe. With climate in crisis, we should all strive to, at least, protect what is left. There is, understandably, pressure to place people at the head of the queue in the current housing crisis and that the natural world has no place in our world. That would be a folly. It is one world. In the overcrowded South East that folly has already been enacted on so many locations and the signs are there, for anyone who wishes to see them. Not just fine agricultural land built over, but hedges and ditches, themselves vital wildlife habitats and corridors, uprooted or filled in by bulldozers. Or orchards and ancient woodlands levelled in the name of growth.
It is now widely accepted that humans need the natural world in far more ways than was previously understood. If we have learned nothing else about ourselves following the Corvid 19 pandemic than that, it is a lesson worth learning and knowledge we would do well to remember and strive to protect. This part of Cheshire is Manchester’s breathing space, a vital resource for peoples’ sense of wellbeing.
4. Tatton Estates submission also ignores the fact that such a large scale development violates sustainable development principles which require growth to be focussed on Tier 1 and Tier 2 urban centres, not on 'Best and Most Versatile' farmland, (that it is BMV is a fact established by independent soil tests).
I submit that this dangerous submission is not about Ashley’s sustainability. It is about nothing other than Tatton Estates exploiting a potential opportunity, supported by misrepresentation of the status of the land in question and hollow suggestions that, if successful, it will ensure Ashley’s future, a future that can never have been in serious doubt. And all at the expense of the people of Ashley, of local history (the potential to compromise 19 Grade II listed building settings, Ashley Hall and, even, Tatton Park itself) and, of course, the surrounding countryside and its ecosystem with the attendant risk of flooding, destruction of vital wildlife corridors and ancient woodland and placing wholly unnecessary pressure on neighbouring Cotterill Clough nature reserve.
Submitted by David Wetjen
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