D-day looms for pool anti-flooding plans
End is in sight after two-year battle over controversial scheme
ONE of the most contentious planning applications of recent years - the Poynton Pool anti-flood scheme - is set to be ruled on this week.
A strategic planning committee at Macclesfield Town Hall will consider the proposals for work to the dam embankment and the creation of two 40m wide clearings.
The Cheshire East Council plans, which have been modified following public consultation, involve the loss of up to 78 trees and two sections of hawthorn hedgerows.
More than 1,700 objections have been raised from residents, Cheshire Wildlife Trust, Friends of Poynton Pool, the Woodland Trust and Poynton Town Council.
They say the project will cause environmental and wildlife damage, the risk of flooding is not enough to justify the work and a less impactful solution such as a sluice gate should be found.
But planning officers have recommended the application be approved despite describing parts of the scheme as ‘brutal’ and ‘unequivocally harmful’.
The friends group will speak at the meeting and say plans are based of flawed information.
Chair Mike Ellison, an aboriculturist, said: “Our view is the flood study is flawed. The application should be deferred to allow the flood study to be reviewed and the inflow and outflow of the pool measured so a solution can be designed to mitigate a measured rather than imagined risk.
“We have worked tirelessly to try and find better solutions to the current proposal, which amounts to widescale environmental vandalism, but have been ignored.”
The group has had two alternative schemes drawn up by civil engineers.
Although plans were consulted on as early as autumn 2022, members say because the estimated £1.4m scheme has changed further consultation should have taken place.
The council scheme seeks to remove low points on 480m of the dam embankment, slightly raise the level of crest and improve the footpath.
The two clearances will improve flood resilience, it is said.
In justifying the scheme, the council says a compulsory inspection found safety concerns over flooding and the trees themselves could be part of the problem.
It is argued should there be flooding the trees could fall, damaging the bank and causing additional concerns.
And that Poynton Pool is classed as a large highrisk reservoir, which
means an uncontrolled release of water could endanger human life.
Council bosses see the current plans as the best option and say tree loss will be mitigated with planting new ones elsewhere as this is not possible at the site itself.
A report by planners to go before the committee says: “The proposal results in a significant loss of trees.
“The loss of these trees is significantly harmful to the amenity of local area.
“The replacement planting at Walnut Tree Farm over 2km away from the application site and within Stockport does little to mitigate for the amenity or historic value of the trees within Poynton. The volume and strength of local opposition to the proposals is acknowledged and completely understood.
“However, the identified harm is considered to be outweighed by the need for the proposal and the lack of any viable alternatives.”