Last month Story Homes brought their proposals to build a development of up to 300 homes on Green Belt land to the south west of Alderley Edge to a public consultation event at the Festival Hall.
Story Homes, who have been appointed to represent the group of landowners, held the public consultation on Thursday, 30th June, to show their plans and explain the benefits the development at Ryleys Farm could bring to the village through a number of community facilities - including car parks and sports facilities.
Since then the Parish Council has received a number of enquiries from concerned residents so they have issued the following statement to confirm their position on the proposals.
"As a Parish Council, our view, which is supported by our Ward Councillor and by the Head of Planning Strategy at Cheshire East Council, is that these proposals would represent an inappropriate development of land which is designated in the Local Plan as making a significant contribution to the green belt. As Alderley Edge is designated in the Local Plan as a Local Service Centre, we are also of the view that the proposals as they stand at the moment would constitute overdevelopment and would not be approved by Cheshire East Planners.
"Over the course of the next 15 years, a certain level of development is inevitable and the indications from the draft Local Plan Strategy are that we can expect to see possibly 100 new homes in Alderley Edge. This figure will ultimately be set by Cheshire East, but these new homes need not necessarily all be built in the same part of our village. This is one of the reasons why as a Parish Council we have recently begun work on developing a Neighbourhood Plan: unfortunately, it would not give us the power to say no to 100 homes, but it would allow us to exercise some control over which plots become developed, as well as the size of any development and the mixture of homes that are eventually built.
"The essence of a Neighbourhood Plan is that it is developed both by and for members of the community, not by the Parish Council. It will be the village's plan, not the Parish Council's plan and it will establish the priorities for this community between now and 2030. So, we need your help to make the Neighbourhood Plan become a reality and would encourage you to join one of the Policy Working Groups that will start to meet in the autumn."
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
This would ease any strain put on local small villages by the profiteers (developers). There is enough land there to satisfy all for the next 100 years.
Astra Zeneca have done a wonderful job of creating what amounts to a small township there and keeping it very well hidden.
Sure beats threatening green belt all the time.
If a new village were to be built it would also have to have services such as school,medical,shops etc,whereas a housing development would not.