Having criticised the Cheshire East Local Plan at a hearing before the Inspector, Stephen Pratt, Stockport Borough Council has subsequently withdrawn their submission.
Richard Wood, Technical Policy and Planning Officer of SMBC, read out a statement at the hearing on Friday, 30th October, which claimed the development set out in the Cheshire East Local Plan would have a 'severe impact' on traffic congestion in the whole of south Stockport and undo the benefits of the £230m Manchester Airport Relief Road in 10 years.
Speaking about the work carried out on behalf of Cheshire East Council, Richard Wood said "What this does is identify that once the A6 to Manchester Airport Relief Road opens there will be a period of up to ten years before the growth in traffic arising purely from the development set out in the Cheshire East Local Plan will use up the highway capacity freed up within local communities. In its entirety.
"Notably that is with no regard to any efforts to repurpose the relieved space for more sustainable use once it is no longer required to accommodate the traffic then able to use the new road - in the scenario of that being done, as is intended, the impact would presumably be even greater at the key points or linkages onto which traffic will be redistributed. And whilst clearly not Cheshire East's responsibility, it is also with no regard to any development growth arising within Stockport or other adjacent authorities.
"That impact – 2 to 7% increase in journey times, as referred to by Cheshire East officers this morning – is not just at the number of critical 'hotspots' it identifies or on the key routes such as the A34 that one might expect but is spread across the whole of the network in the modelled area, essentially the whole of Stockport south of the M60."
"So forgive me if I am somewhat dismissive of the Council's case on this but my authority simply cannot see how that - eroding the benefit of a £230m road scheme in its entirety - is anything but a severe impact unless it is suitably mitigated."
He continued "I would argue, however, that a level of congestion which requires a £230m road scheme to resolve, along with the other measures in an extensive package of multi- modal transport improvements over a 20 year period – particularly bearing in mind that such matters are key to determining whether such schemes can gain funding or indeed planning permission – is likely to be considered 'severe' in the perception of anyone other than, seemingly, representatives of Cheshire East Council. A severe impact, as the Framework and PPG are clear, can be reason for development to not be permitted – and so it follows that to proceed it would require suitable, adequate mitigation to reduce its impact to something less than severe.
"And so I ask on behalf of my authority: We know the cumulative impact will be severe - what is the intervention, or suite of interventions, to mitigate it to an acceptable, less than severe, level and where are the mechanisms to ensure those interventions are brought about and achieve their aims in a suitable timeframe?
"Without, as it stands, any satisfactory answers to those questions - or indeed an understanding of whether there even are satisfactory answers to those questions - my authority simply cannot see how this plan can possibly be considered 'deliverable' or, it follows, 'effective'."
The statement was read out at Macclesfield Town Hall before the assembled group, consisting of local councillors, planning advisers and concerned groups - including Residents of Wilmslow. The statement was subsequently sent to Cheshire East Council and added to the examination library (item RE D023) where it was accessible to members of the public but was subsequently withdrawn by Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council.
A spokesperson for Cheshire East Council said: "The representative of Stockport Council read out a statement at the Cheshire East Local Plan Examination hearing on Friday, October 30.
"This statement was submitted to the Inspector – and, in accordance with normal procedures, was placed in the examination library. The content of the statement was strongly rebutted by Cheshire East officers at the hearing.
"On November 4, Stockport Council indicated that they wished the statement to be withdrawn – and subsequently confirmed on Thursday, November 5, that they had requested the Inspector to disregard both the written statement and the verbal submission made at the hearing on October 30. Accordingly the statement was removed from the examination library."
Councillor Rachel Bailey, Cabinet member in charge of the Local Plan Task Force, said: "We regret that this statement was made at the hearing and are pleased that it has now been withdrawn.
"We have been pleased to work with Stockport on cross-boundary issues over the past few years and look forward to continuing to work closely with them on matters such as highways and transportation in the future."
Updated: 5.15pm on Wednesday, 11th November.
Following my enquiry I have now received a statement from Stockport Council.
A Stockport Council spokesperson said: "Stockport Council made a written submission to the resumed Cheshire East Local Plan examination setting out our position. At the examination hearing on Friday October 30th, a supplementary statement was made and this has now been withdrawn so that further work on cross-boundary transport implications with Cheshire East Council can be agreed. Stockport Council will continue to work with Cheshire East Council to ensure the Local Plan's impact on the highways network in Stockport can be mitigated."
Photo: Councillor Rachel Bailey, Cabinet member in charge of the Local Plan Task Force.
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