Developers hoping for 330 homes on former green belt
DEVELOPERS have unveiled controversial plans to build hundreds of new homes on former green belt land.
Bovis Homes plans to build 330 houses on land off Gaw End Lane, in Macclesfield.
They are pushing ahead with the proposals – which includes 100 affordable homes, play areas, allotments and open space – after the council agreed to allocate the land for housing under its Local Plan.
But a campaign group, which was formed to save the green belt from development, said the plans show there will be increased traffic along London Road, which has already been identified as a pollution hotspot in the council’s Air Quality Management Scheme.
A spokesperson for Save Macclesfield Green Belt said: “The traffic from Gaw End Lane must go down London Road, which is an Air Quality Management Area, so you are sending traffic down a really bad road, which has air quality issues already.”
He added: “We don’t want any green belt being built on ideally. It worries us that they are going full steam ahead with this green belt development, when there is so many brownfield sites that could be developed.”
But Bovis Homes says environmental concerns have been considered in detail. A spokesperson for the developer said: “The planning application will include a transport assessment and an air quality assessment, setting out how any impacts of the development will be addressed.
“In addition, the proposals support sustainable forms of transport and will include a pedestrian and cycling strategy to ensure the site is accessible for pedestrians and cyclists and provides routes connecting to key facilities in the town and a safe crossing over London Road.”
The land, in Sutton, was hotly contested by conservation groups last year, which were desperate to protect green spaces from development.
However, following a lengthy consultation, it was adopted into Cheshire East Council’s Local Plan, which states what homes and infrastructure can be built in Macclesfield and the borough until 2030.
Its adoption means development can go ahead on sites allocated in the plan, with more than new 4,000 homes predicted for Macclesfield.
An exhibition showing the details of the Gaw End Lane plans will be on display at Macclesfield Town Football Club on Tuesday, April 24, from 2pm-7pm.