Pool plans ‘based on inaccurate info’ - claim
CAMPAIGNERS against ‘£1.4m plans’ for flood safety work at a beauty spot say proposals are based on inaccurate information.
Cheshire East Council has submitted a planning application for work to even up the dam embankment at Poynton Pool.
It also wants to create to 40m wide clearings for flood water to spill across and widen and resurface the footpath but the plans involve cutting down at least 31 trees.
This has sparked a huge backlash with more than 200 representations made to the council as part of consultation that lasts until December 27.
Friends of Poynton Pool has worked with Poynton Town Council to review the 2019 report by consultants that has been used to inform the plans.
They say it is inaccurate, overstates the likelihood of any flooding and the increasingly expensive work cannot be allowed to go ahead.
Mike Ellison, chair of Friends of Poynton Pool, said: “It is evident that there are some fundamental issues in the accuracy of the information and guidance that has been provided to the council.
“We believe that significantly more than the revised 31 trees stated by the council will be lost due to the heavy machinery that will cause irreparable damage to their sensitive root systems.
“This proposal, based on a number of inaccuracies including an incorrect risk categorisation, will cause irreparable damage to our parkland landscape and local habitats.”
Initially the council said 44 trees would need removing with another 37 at risk.
Revised plans now say 31 will definitely be removed with another 47 set for remedial work with a view to retention ‘subject to post completion monitoring to assess their health’.
The friends group say that what was once a predicted project cost of £570,000 is now £1.4m.
And that a further cost will be to the environment as the area is a site of biological importance and home to a number of protected red list species.
In addition members argue that the dam itself has not been breached in 250 years and, if steps need to be taken, then a sluice gate would be a better option.
Other proposals in the application are a 2m clay buffer to reduce risk of tree root damage.
The council says a compulsory inspection at the site 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. 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 spokesperson for Cheshire East Council said: “This is a live planning application which is currently scheduled to go to committee early in 2024.
“As part of the consultation process, the local planning authority has consulted for comments on this application to be submitted up to and including December 27.
“The council does not comment on live planning applications during the planning process.”