Planning response deadline looming

The deadline for submitting your comments on the proposed development for 87 new homes behind Tollgate and Moorsfield and running down to the canal is looming – it's noon on Wednesday this week – so we are repeating the story from the Audlem West Residents Action Group published last week:

As many readers of AOL will be aware the Audlem Neighbourhood Plan (ANP) was made April 12th 2016 at Cheshire East Council.

The plan represents the express wishes of village residents, it empowers local people to shape their surroundings, those residents for whom a vision for Audlem includes gradual managed well planned development.

Hopefully with the neighbourhood plan in place we can more robustly resist speculative planning developments that contravene the wishes of Audlem residents.

However without a crucial 5 year land supply in place, Neighbourhood plans do not act as a total safeguard resulting in unwanted and unnecessary applications being passed.

The latest planning application that AOL has reported is sited in the West of Audlem and proposes 87 new homes on Grade 3 agricultural land, outside the settlement boundary.

As part of the planning process the developers and Cheshire East contacted residents local to the proposed site. As a result a 'resident's action group' was formed to object to the plan on several grounds. However as a group we are conscious that those residents who are not in close proximity to the site may not be aware of the application which directly contravenes the ANP and which will have a large impact on the village as a whole.

We are therefore asking all residents to please consider the planning application 16/0725N before the deadline of Noon 21st April 2016 and have their say.

Here are some of the implications of the development for the whole village:

• Cheshire East's official estimate of 80-100 homes to be built in the ward of Audlem during the period 2010-30 has since trebled to 305 having received approval. This as you are aware has been the result of speculative planning applications and makes planning application 16/0725N most certainly surplus to requirements.
• In line with this, the number of additional cars within the village is estimated to rise to in excess of 400 (taking into consideration the already passed planning applications). For those people who live here it doesn't take us to state the exacerbated congestion crisis which would likely result.
• Audlem runs the risk of becoming a 'dormitory town' as residents leave the area each day to work and shop elsewhere with negative consequences on local business and on the community life currently enjoyed by its residents.
• Visitors to the 'village' of Audlem support local businesses and are drawn here in large part by the conservation area and locally valued landscapes such as the rural corridor along the canal. If this planning application were to be permitted, the proposed plan looks to turn the affected section of the canal into something more akin to style of an 'urban' waterway.
• This in turn will have an impact on wildlife which is so central to rural living.
• The GP practice has already raised its objection to the application (available to view on Cheshire East Website and recently cited in local press) stating it will be forced to 'close its list' to new patients as it is already at capacity.
• There is already a pre-existing lack of spare capacity for high school places which serve Audlem.With an influx of households with school age children, current residents may find it even more difficult to secure school places for their children.
• Finally, the passing of this application would effectively disempower and disenfranchise the people of Audlem who have worked tirelessly as a community to keep this place great!

Please have your say

To register a comment you can either:-

1) Write, clearly stating the planning application number and your own name and address, to
Development Management, PO Box 606, Municipal Buildings, Earle Street, Crewe, CW1 2BJ
2) Send an email, again with your details and the planning application number, to planning@cheshireeast.gov.uk
3) Go to
http://planning.cheshireeast.gov.uk/applicationdetails.aspx?pr=16/0725N
and go to available actions on the right of the page. This allows you to comment and upload a word document.

Thank you.
Audlem West Residents Action Group

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