Rejection of housing masterplan ‘coming home to roost now’
ACOUNCILLOR has warned that Stockport’s decision to pull out of the region’s development plan is ‘coming home to roost’ as a committee refused to make a decision on a controversial housing scheme.
Proposals to build five executive homes on open space in Great Moor went before the central area committee with an officer’s recommendation for approval.
However, the plans for the ‘overgrown’ site between Corbar Road and Aldersgate Road - have met with significant local opposition.
Although not currently accessible to the public, nearly 40 objections have been lodged by neighbours, many raising concerns over security and anti-social behaviour.
Councillors were inclined to reject the application - with Coun Charlie Stewart stressing the value of urban green spaces - but feared heavy costs being imposed if developer Corbar Limited were to successfully appeal.
It comes after Stockport opted to pull out of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) a joint-plan setting out how the region would develop over the next 17 years - at a stormy full council meeting in December.
As Stockport can neither demonstrate a fiveyear housing land supply or - following its withdrawal from the GMSF - a plan to address that shortage, defeat at appeal would be highly likely.
Faced with a dilemma, the all-Labour panel voted to send the application to the council’s planning and highways committee - whose members include Conservative, Lib Dem and independent councillors who voted against the GMSF.
Central committee chair Coun Dickie Davies said the consequences of the December vote would now begin to be felt.
“I think the decision by Stockport council not to support the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework is coming home to roost, and this is the thin end of the wedge,” he said.
“As far as I understand it - and I am in no way an expert in this area - we are going to have these sort of problems and these sort of debates for years to come, in fact, and I’m not looking forward to it.”
His comments came after Coun Andy Sorton moved to send the application to refer the application - with no recommendation - to the planning committee.
Coun Sorton told the meeting that the council’s defeated attempt to defend its refusal of a 300home estate on green belt at Heald Green was an object lesson.
And he was unwilling to risk such heavy costs being visited on the Central committee given the area it represents.
“We have the most deprived communities of any part of the borough and if you look at the borough plan, it clearly sets that out,” he said.
“We have to spend our money on food and on supporting access to food.
“That’s what people in the public don’t know, you’ve seen it and heard it in our applications [for ward funding].”
But neither could Coun Sorton - who chairs the planning committee bring himself to back the application.
“My moral compass says this is absolutely wrong,” he said.
“We were warned of it and so were these councillors - and they need to start being accountable and making the decisions they determined back in December.
“We made our decision in December and we would have protected this. I’m really struggling but I don’t see how we can win an appeal on it.
“If planning and highways do, then let them make this tough decision and let them pay for an appeal if it’s necessary.”
The application was due to be decided by the planning committee when it met on Thursday night