As new proposals emerged to build hundreds of homes and a care home at a quarry on the outskirts of Alsager, a call was made this week to instead turn the site into a nature reserve.
White Moss Quarry, where the extraction of aggregate is due to cease in the next two years, could be the location for 400 homes, a care home and a multi-use games area.
Those were the proposals mooted in a document published by developer Anwyl Homes as it began a consultation ahead of submitting a planning application to Cheshire East Council.
But already Alsager resident Sylvia Dyke, who for years has single-handedly kept a watching brief on White Moss, said she would oppose the house plans and instead wanted the site to be turned into a nature reserve, similar to Astbury Mere near Congleton.
Anwyl said it wanted to “understand the community’s views” via a public consultation before submitting its plans to Cheshire East Council.
Its consultation brochure said that White Moss was allocated within the Cheshire East Council Local Plan for residential development and a local centre, including community and retail facilities.
“White Moss will cease operating as a quarry and will be restored through engineering works and landscaping to deliver a high-quality mixed-use development,” Anwyl said.
The proposal comprises a hybrid planning application for up to 400 “well-designed” homes, including affordable properties, in a mix of one- to four-bedroom homes, a care home, and small-scale commercial and community facilities.
Two formal play areas are also in the proposal, including a multi-use games area and a “neighbourhood-equipped” play area, along with “high quality” landscaping and amenity space.
Anwyl’s brochure said: “Cessation of quarry operations and the restoration of White Moss will provide significant ecological and visual improvements.”
It said “delivery of a new care home” would “increase living options for the older population and a new local centre including community and commercial facilities to support the existing and new community”.
Mrs Dyke said she believed existing post-quarrying restoration plans at the site should take precedence.
She said: “Quarrying at White Moss is due to end in 2028 and there was a condition that the site should be restored to its original state. I would be against the latest plans; it’s been a quarry for 40 years, if you go beneath sand and peat, you hit water. The restoration plans included a lake.”
Mrs Dyke indicated that it could be developed in a similar way to Astbury Mere, a former sand quarry.
The beauty spot, which includes a country park and has been dubbed the “jewel in the crown” of Congleton, and attracts thousands of visitors a year, is the setting for a popular weekly parkrun event.
Mrs Dyke said: “Astbury Mere is a good example of how a quarry can be restored to nature. Why can’t Alsager have its own little nature reserve at White Moss?” The consultation period closes on 10th April.
For more information, visit astlepd.co.uk/white-moss-alsager.
