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I have learnt that the new local plan includes the possibility of housing development on the green belt off Blakelow Road, Macclesfield. I wish to share my comments with you about this aspect of the plan, or more specifically my objections to this part of the plan.
The view from Blakelow Road, over the Cheshire Plane, but also the surrounding areas of the Peaks, the Pennines and the Welsh hills, is almost unsurpassed. I believe it has been voted one of the ten best views in the whole of the Greater Manchester region. It is possible to see many of the regions major sights from this vantage point. These sights include Jodrell Bank telescope, the Welsh mountains, Liverpool, Media City, Winter Hill, the West Pennine Moors, the South Pennines, Manchester, and both Old Trafford football ground (home of Manchester United) and the Etihad Stadium (home of Manchester City), and Lyme Park. It is not surprising, therefore, that this area of Macclesfield and its view have been designated a Site of Special Scenic Value.*
This view is enjoyed by not only the residents of Blakelow Road, but also what are, over a year, many hundreds of walkers, cyclists and other 'tourists'. Many of these people are seeking exercise and being able to enjoy the wonderful views from Blakelow Road encourages them to take up this exercise.
On both bonfire night and New Year's Eve, scores of people come to Blakelow Road to enjoy the amazing fireworks show that can be seen across the whole of the Macclesfield, Cheshire and Greater Manchester.
If this 'jewel in the crown' of Macclesfield, and East Cheshire, was to be built on it would detract from and undermine a truly unique resource for hundreds of people in the immediate vicinity and the thousands of visitors who come here over the years to savour this very special location.
Given that the land in question is elevated, if housing were to be built on it, it would be especially prominent and stick out like a sore thumb and consequently ruin the view and wider environment.
This part of the green belt also acts an important buffer and visual transition between the built environment (of Macclesfield) and the open countryside on the other side. The land off Blakelow Road comprises, in effect, the foothills of The Peak District, and as you will know, from Blakelow it is only a stone's throw to Teggs Nose country park. Therefore, if any development was to go ahead it would be eating into not only the green belt, but also farmland and these foothills of The Peak district.
Before considering any building off Blakelow Road, the council must consider utilising all available brownfield and and greenfield sites.
The land off Blakelow Road is effectively the countryside. In the 28 years I have lived on Blakelow Road, it has, every year, been used for cattle, sheep and horses for grazing. It is, moreover, home to and /or used by a wide variety of wildlife. This includes badgers, bats, Canada geese, common buzzards, ducks, foxes, frogs, kestrels, pheasants, rabbits, sparrow hawks, toads, and an assortment of songbirds, not to mention butterflies, moths and a multitude of other insects. I myself have had newts and a weasel in my garden, and it might well be that they are making use of the land off Blakelow Road as well. In short, the land off Blakelow Road is a wildlife haven.
I should also mention that the land off Blakelow Road has a road system in keeping with its status as green belt i.e. the roads are relatively narrrow in places and somewhat hazardous. If the land off Blakelow Road was to be developed this would, in particular, make the roads even more dangerous than they already are. Blakelow Road itself has a number of dangerous 'hotspots'. These include the junction of Blakelow Road and the Old Buxton Road, the bend in the road outside my own house ([REDACTED]), the steep hill (which eventually leads down to Windmill Street and on which there were two accidents the winter before last when the drivers of two 4 x 4s (in separate incidents) lost control on the slippy road and crashed into the wall at the bottom of the steep incline - and this despite the road having been gritted); and the dog leg turn at the bottom of this incline.
The steep incline I mentioned above is not the only location where there is danger from winter conditions. There is a slight rise in the road outside my house and this can be difficult to drive up in the winter. Similarly, if one drives from Blakelow Road onto the Old Buxton Road, there is, at this junction, a small but significant decline. This is another area that can prove treacherous in the winter. And the Old Buxton Road itself, even when it has been gritted can be impassable in the winder, due to slippery conditions.
Blakelow Road and the Old Buxton Road cannot sustain any more traffic without adding significantly to the danger of accidents between cars, and between people and cars.
I should also note, in respect of the narrowness of the roads, that heavy good vehicles have tried to turn in the road outside my house on two occasions and have collided with, and damaged, my drystone wall.
And, finally, I should mention that Blakelow Road and the Old Buxton Road are routinely being dug up owing to water leaks. Each road is dug up at least once a year, and the Old Buxton Road a number of times per year. (Official records will confirm this.) I can only imagine that the frequency of these repairs is due to an underlying and fundamental weakness in the sub-stratum. In short, these country roads cannot sustain more traffic without damaging the underlying services more frequently, leading to services being turned off and roads being closed.
In conclusion, the land off Blakelow Road is an invaluable and unique green belt resource that is appreciated and used by thousands of people. If nay development was to go ahead it would adversely and seriously impact all of the above benefits.
