Local plan scoping consultation

Comment

Representation ID: 5817

Received: 29/08/2026

Respondent: David and Jacqueline Storey

I strongly object to the development of this nearly 300 hectares of 12 adjoining parcels at Ashley. This is quality and high performing Green Belt, not Grey Belt, preventing urban sprawl in the important urban gap between Greater Manchester and Cheshire. This open productive farmland needs to be safeguarded.

Ashley is a small settlement with limited services, no bus network and limited rail unsuitable for economic upgrade. Road access is constrained by narrow bridges with many small lanes. This development is unsustainable and would cause major traffic, drainage and infrastructure issues. It would damage protected landscapes, wildlife habitats and the settings of the many historic listed buildings within the proposed development.

The council should retain the Green Belt status and protection and reject this site entirely.