Consultation to discuss plans for 300 new homes in Alderley Edge

Mr Story - Take your ugly dated box rabbit run estate like houses and keep them in Carlisle please where no one cares what fields you wreck or style of houses you build as you have so much space. Don't come here looking for cash because your wife watches Housewifes of Cheshire and you think you will make a killing.

Who currently owns this land?

Cheshire East I think

Story homes bought the land from the previous owners in Feb 2016 so they actually now own it with conditions which are commercially sensitive so not disclosed to general public but possibly pending approval the land gets approved to build on from Cheshire East.

Classic 'fill-in' development following the building of the ill-thought-through Alderley bypass.

More such applications are bound follow, despite assurances at the time the bypass was being debated that such development would not happen. It'll be interesting to see if that is the case, though I'm not holding my breath.

This is the last thing that Alderley Edge needs as it struggles to hold on to it's village identity and appeal. More grubby developers making money at our expense. Can't speak for everyone but it is lovely to hear the sheep as they graze on this green belt land which we were all told would not be developed on.

The cynic in me thinks that "consultation" means this deal has been done and we'd better look to be doing right by the residents. Another abomination by Cheshire East and a developer who is only interested in making money. To say anything other than that insults our intelligence.

The land is green belt, this should be the end of the conversation notwithstanding that this propsal is ludicrous for a small village.

Building on Green Belt aside , how on earth will the infrastructure of our already fit to bursting village cope with the residents of these 300 houses ??!! The medical centre , schools , traffic and dare I say parking .... With this proposal and the one near to Handforth Dean our lovely slice of rural Cheshire is at risk of disappearing into some urban conurbation ..... I sincerely hope that the councillors in charge of planning say a big fat no to this utterly ludicrous proposal .

I wholeheartedly agree with you, Helen. Whilst I recognise the need for more (affordable) housing in this area and across the country, if the authorities responsible for considering such developments are not willing to take into account infrastructure, and in particular (I agree again), healthcare, traffic, parking and schooling, then they are not doing their job.

This proposal, with the 'options' they are proposing (community/ sport facilities; green space etc) is ridiculous.

The one thing missing from their list of "What would you like see" is 'Green Fields'.

300 new houses?.... 500 children requiring schooling etc? Are we completely mad?
Assuming that the key access will be via Eaton Drive, most readers will already know that Eaton Drive is virtually inaccessible at key times of the day due to uncontrolled parking on the one hand and schoolchildren drop offs on the other.Surely 300 houses on green belt land is massively disproportionate to the size and infrastructure of Alderley Edge.To make matters worse, an additional 500 cars trying to access London Road via Ryleys Lane will negate most of the regrettably few advantages the Bypass has brought to the village.

@ Emma Casson; so you are saying that Cheshire East Council sold Green Belt land to housing developers?

Any CEC Councillors reading this care to comment?

I can only comment on what I have been told and I have been led to believe from a contact who is in commercial land sales that the previous owners were made up of a collection of individuals private and council so I can't comment on who owned what specific pieces of land but according to the land registry there is a unilateral notice registered against the land in favour of Story Homes, with a notice on the register to protect their interest in the land. I have a very vested interest as a resident of Sutton Road where our house adjoins the Ryleys fields so if anyone else can shed any more light on the matter then great?

Coming from a young person's perspective, the village does need AFFORDABLE housing as its virtually impossible for a young person to afford to buy their first house/flat in Alderley or Wilmslow.

So I appreciate that housing is needed, but these fields, or at least on the east side green lane, are used for hiking, dog walking and farming. People who live near those fields will have most likely bought their houses for that reason, after all its greenbelt and construction there was never a possibility.

Why not make use of the space behind harden park by the bypass, with a few AFFORDABLE apartments with a little corner shop to boot. Its right next to a pub, has good transport links and the land would hardly be missed!

This current proposal just doesn't meet the needs of the people of Alderley.

George , like you , I fully understand the need for affordable housing in this area which we are very privileged to call home ... ☺️ My husband and I are lucky to both live and work in this village ( an aside : Charlie has been very poorly and his business has been closed as a result . Thank you to sooo many readers who have expressed concern ) .... BUT ultimately as I stated in my previous comment our lovely village cannot cope with the extra pressure this outrageous proposal will place upon our Medical Centre , schools , traffic flow and guess what ?? Parking . As Claire said ... These "developers" cannot be doing their jobs properly ( or , actually , don't care ) if they don't take into consideration the current infrastructure of our lovely village . As regards George's suggestion re: Hardern Park .... Well The County (derelict for how long ??) ... Maybe that could be developed into some low-cost housing/first time buyer development ?? ( NOT 300 "executive" homes ) Rather that than being left as a blot on the landscape ... Hardly what the visitor to our village expects to see ?? Maybe that could be some compromise if Cheshire East expects a quota of new builds to be met ?? Back to the discussion ... Ultimately unless Story Homes can help towards funding all of the above ( which they won't ) I will be the first person with my Hunter wellies Joules gilet to build a campsite a la Swampy on those fields ....

I'll be with you Helen! It seems from the map that the building will not be restricted to the fields behind Sutton Road, but will extend over Ryley's Lane and Green Lane up to the Railway Lane. If they can get 7 houses where previously there was one (Chorley Hall Lane) then I'm guessing more than 300 houses will fit on all those fields.

Alderley Edge will not be a village if they get their way!

Residents of Alderley might want to look at the Local Plan documents, in particular, the SHMA Update, document BE001 in the Local Plan Examination Library. Section 3.29 of this gives "Stakeholder Priorities"; namely the priorities of estate agents and developers. What they wanted was development in Macclesfield, Wilmslow and Alderley Edge and “the stronger market areas with viable, unconstrained greenfields. In my submission for the Local Plan Examination I noted, "When the number of new homes for Alderley Edge is finally announced it will mean that the Stakeholder Priorities will have been fulfilled in their entirety, irrespective of identified need".

The land was (prior to the construction of the bypass) owned by four trustees, based in Cornwall, Berkshire, West Sussex & Oxfordshire respectively. On completion of the bypass, the residue land was returned to these trustees, who no longer wish to keep it.

When the Local Plan came before Full Council in February, it contained NO strategic site allocations for Alderley Edge, our greenbelt remained in tact and we continued to be recognised as a Local Service Centre (not a Key Service Centre). I voted for it on that basis.

Following a public consultation that took place in March/April however, amendments may be made to the version Councillors were asked to vote on. Crucially, we will not know what these amendments are until the end of July (when the final version is submitted).

Independent Councillors at Cheshire East tabled a motion that the final version of the Local Plan should come back to Full Council for further debate, prior to submission; however the ruling Conservative Group vetoed this motion. I will allow people to draw their own conclusions!

To date, Story Homes have held two stakeholder consultation events (involving Parish Councillors and representatives of schools, sports clubs and other local organisations). On both occasions we have made the point that they need to consult with the wider community.

I would encourage everyone who is able to, to attend the consultation event next Thursday. Your Parish Councillors will be there as well, if you have any concerns. In the meantime, I will be holding my usual monthly surgery at Aldeli from 10am this Saturday morning.

Best wishes,
Craig

So let me get this right. The local plan was put forward in Feb and councillors voted on it. The plan then changes, details of which are being kept under wraps, and critically this new version won't be debated, but the previous voting approval remains even though it's for a different plan? That's not democracy. That's corruption.

The Local Plan made it quite clear that there would not be strategic allocations for Local Service Centres, - that they would be allocated after the plans acceptance because most of the development needs would go to strategic sites. In other words, Cheshire East Councillors knew this in advance and yet still chose to accept the plan on this basis. A site does not have to be "strategic" to be allocated for development. "The Site Allocations and Development Policies Document will follow the Local Plan Strategy with detailed policies to be used when considering planning applications for new development across the Borough. It will also allocate the remaining sites proposed for future development" Note the use of the term, "remaining" sites. Did anyone really think the Local Service Centres would not have any development?

What I'm still not understanding is how a piece of green belt land has been purchased, the details of which (according to this thread) are undisclosed. In tandem the local plan has been debated and signed off without the content being agreed and suddenly you add the two together and we've got a speculative development of 300 houses on green belt via a loophole in the local plan, with no thought to infrastructure other than a reference to parking, probably only added as its a hot topic in the village. I'm not anti-devopment but I am on this scale for a village this size. How is this even in he realm of acceptability and what can be done about it?

We know houses in the borough need building and we have to take our share but that number is not 300 nor is it large executive homes, it's small starter homes like others have suggested at the brownfield sites that already exist in the area.

But like I said in an earlier post, I suspect a deal has been struck already and I doubt the developer will want to acquiesce on their profit v's what's right and proper for a village.

I'd be willing to attend this "supposed" conseltation thing this Thursday. As if it is the case that planning has been approved, then i'm willing to take any opportunity to save those fields. So many happy times spent walking there with family and friends, to see it built over would be awful.

Even if we have to accept that storey will be building in that area, could we as a village suggest some sort of compromise with the developer? i.e. building only to the west of green Lane (area not used publicly for walking).

How greenbelt has been purchased is beyond me, but if the best we can do is try and compromise, the we absolutely should! (These companies are usually more willing to deal with folk who aren't completely set against them) As I doubt getting all nimby about it won't help the situation.

Can we together as a collective, come up with some kind of alternative proposal to at least suggest to the developers? Might stand a chance persuading them on Thursday then!

Well said everybody, but it will have already been decided. Cheshire East do not like us and never have !!!

So 300 houses maybe 500+extra cars in and out of Ryles Lane?amazing

I hope we are all able to attend the "consultation" on Thursday evening at the Festival Hall .... I certainly will be there . I like to think that I'm normally "on the ball" as regards planning applications , certainly ones of this size !!! This one , I feel , seems to have slipped in via the back door .... I will be voicing my voicferious concerns to the reps from Story Homes .....

Mmm…have you checked out the developments currently taking place around us?
Affordable homes is one thing that are not under construction (other than a derisory token gesture).
It is a phrase politicians use to quell opposition but has absolutely no meaning as developers hate building low cost housing and wiggle like rats to free themselves from any such commitment and they have been enormously successful.

No first time buyers are going to benefit from this proposed development. Alderley will lose more of its identity and families desperate to get a foot on the housing ladder will be no nearer achieving their dream. Developers however will do very well…thanks you.
Affordable homes is a smoke screen used to enrich developers not provide essential homes for those in need.