‘Concerns’ over plans to build on greenbelt
AN MP has raised concerns over proposals by a charity that provides care and education for profoundly disabled children to fund redevelopment through the sale of greenbelt land.
Seashell Trust, based in Cheadle, wants to build a £45m ‘ national centre of excellence’ to replace its current, outdated campus, which is home to some of the most severely disabled young people in the UK.
The charity has applied for planning permission for up to 325 new homes on land it owns between Wilmslow Road and the A34 at Heald Green in order to raise cash needed for the development.
The application has been submitted to Stockport council and is undergoing the consultation process.
Bosses at the charity say there is ‘no way to get the funding needed through central government grants’, necessitating the sale of the land.
However, a number of residents in the area are unhappy about the plans and a Save Heald Green Greenbelt group is campaigning against the development.
Now Cheadle MP Mary Robinson has written a letter to the council’s planning department outlining her concerns.
In it she says she supports the ‘broad principal of the redevelopment of the Seashell Trust’s educational buildings’, but that she ‘equally cannot support the proposal to build this large scale development on greenbelt land’.
“Green spaces and greenbelt designation are fundamental to promoting better air quality, better public health and preventing the urban sprawl and blending of local communities,” she said.
“In my view the very special circumstances being presented by the trust do not outweigh the substantial harm caused to the greenbelt by such a large scale development.”
Seashell Trust chief executive Mark Geraghty says they are ‘struggling to meet the challenging needs of our pupils’ due to the constraints of the old building.
He added: “The plan is to create a new school and campus with a specialist recreation centre and hydrotherapy pool to provide the high quality care our children desperately need. But that kind of development costs a lot of money and, although we are using millions of pounds of our own money, we do need to sell some of our land for development to help provide the bulk of the money.
“Unfortunately there is no way we can get the funding needed through central government grants and we only have so much in reserves and borrowing capability. We need to sell this land to deliver the project and continue providing the care and support to our children.”