Campaigners fighting plans for a new town at Adlington have warned that the development would also affect Congleton.
The proposal, which emerged late last year after the Government’s New Towns Taskforce identified Adlington as one of 12 potential sites across England, would see up to 20,000 houses built on nearly 1,000 hectares of green belt.
With a projected population of 55,000, the new settlement would be larger than the town of Congleton itself. Adlington is currently home to approximately 1,250 people.
The plans call for 14,000 to 20,000 new homes, commercial spaces (offices, workshops and labs), schools, sports facilities and even lodgings. For context 14,000 households is larger than Wilmslow and 20,000 homes is nearly three times the number of households currently in Poynton. Congleton has 11-12,000 homes.
While the site sits between Macclesfield and Poynton, the group Supporters of the Adlington Greenbelt warned in a letter to the “Chronicle” that the “ripple effects” would be felt far beyond the immediate construction site.
Andrew Jackson said the development might seem “far away and not likely to affect people in Congleton”, but “that couldn’t be further from the truth”.
He said that with an extra 30,000 cars on the roads, it would place “severe pressure” on already congested roads throughout Cheshire – especially Congleton, already a serious bottleneck. While some traffic might use the link road, traffic for Stoke and other directions will use roads through town.
He wrote: “Healthcare is another serious concern. Macclesfield District General Hospital is the nearest A&E for both Congleton and Adlington. This proposal does not include a new hospital, despite it already being under strain. Adding a further 55,000 residents will only make the problem worse.”
The hospital was this week rated as “requires improvement”.
Mr Jackson also said that Congleton was on the same train line as Adlington, used daily by many commuters travelling into Manchester.
“A development of this size would inevitably worsen the overcrowding and reliability of the line,” he said.
He said that while more housing might be needed, demand in Cheshire East “does not justify a development of this scale”, particularly when recent local developments have produced homes “priced far beyond the reach of first-time buyers”.
Cheshire East Council voted unanimously to formally object to the plans – although only after council leader Coun Nick Mannion and his deputy Michael Gorman had written to Government expressing support.
The council’s motion criticised the lack of public consultation and argued that the proposal would create urban sprawl from Macclesfield to Stockport, destroying the distinct character of Cheshire’s rural villages. It said the proposition was at odds with several of the Government’s own planning policies.
This was after Couns Mannion and Gorman appeared to support the proposal for Adlington New Town. The letter was referred to at a recent select committee hearing when New Towns Task Force chair Sir Michael Lyons was asked what consultation there had been with local leaders before the task force made its recommendations on possible sites, and said a letter signed by the leader and the deputy leader had been received saying they supported the plan.
“I think we felt that was safe enough at this stage for us to put the proposition forward to Government for consideration,” he said.
Couns Mannion and Gorman apologised publicly for the letter at a meeting of the full council.
Macclesfield MP Tim Roca has said Adlington has “limited rail services, constrained road capacity and utilities that were never designed to support a town 20 times its current size”.
He told the House of Commons: “There are brownfield sites across Cheshire, Greater Manchester and the wider region that are crying out for regeneration.”
While developers Belport argue the project is necessary to tackle the national housing crisis, the campaigners are sceptical.
“Local developments have produced homes priced far beyond the reach of first-time buyers. Two-bed apartments exceeding £400,000 are not affordable housing for local people,” said Mr Jackson.
A public protest is scheduled for Saturday, 15th February at 1pm. Protesters will gather at the roundabout near Starbucks in Adlington (SK10 4NL), adjacent to the Poynton Relief Road. Organisers are encouraging residents from across the region, including Congleton, to attend and “stand together for the countryside”.
Full details of the campaign and the upcoming protest can be found at saveadlington.co.uk.
(Photo: Bollington Town Council).
