Concerns raised over hundreds of new homes planned in Bramhall
Stockport could face "decades" of problems if more schools, doctors and local services are not built alongside new housing, a councillor has claimed.
Bramhall South and Woodford councillor Peter Crossen said developers building in the area need to include infrastructure improvements in their schemes – or risk causing major problems in the borough's communities.
His comments were made after Jones Homes revealed early plans for 250 'family homes' on land off Hall Moss Lane in Bramhall.
This is alongside a proposed expansion of the Woodford Garden Village by Harrow Estates, and 1,500 homes in a new garden village at Handforth near the A34, where up to 70 percent of properties will be owned by Cheshire East Council.
Cllr Crossen – a Conservative – also hit out at Lib Dem-led Stockport council for not having a local plan for housing, which he says has "invited chaos across Bramhall, Cheadle Hulme and Woodford".
He said: "Without a competent plan, we currently have an application for up to 750 new homes in Woodford, this new plan for 250 houses in an area that residents tell me is constantly flooding.
"Residents report to me daily that they see surveyors measuring every spare patch of land including two further sites in Woodford.
"Yet plans and promises on infrastructure simply have not materialised at all. Promises of doctors, dentists, school places and other vital services have not materialised. The A555 is flooding annually and the traffic flow at peak times going towards the A34 at Stanley Green is causing chaos and misery for residents and commuters.
"Couple this with the Cheshire East Council plan for 1500 new homes on the other side of the A34 and it signals disaster for residents and infrastructure in the decades ahead."
Jones Homes declined to comment on its plans in Bramhall, but confirmed it is preparing to send leaflets to residents about new homes in the area.
Tim Noden, planning director at Harrow Estates, said there would be "a great many public benefits" to the Woodford Garden Village extension proposals.
He added: "Our proposed extension to Woodford Garden Village is a significant opportunity to help address increasing levels of unmet housing need in Stockport.
"Our proposals at the former aerodrome site would deliver around 540 homes, 50 percent of which are proposed to be affordable, alongside a mixed-use community hub adjacent to the Avro Heritage Museum.
"This would be in addition to the approved space for shops on-site, and Woodford Primary School which has capacity to be extended if required through this planning process."
Around half of the Woodford Garden Village extension – more than 14 hectares – would be a mix of green open and semi-natural space, alongside pedestrian and cycle routes across the site and linking to nearby areas.
Cheshire East Council was approached for comment.
Stockport council delayed its local plan last year after the government imposed new housing targets on the borough, but it has since resumed work and adoption of the local plan is now expected by winter 2027/28.
The local plan was previously postponed in 2022 after the council said there was uncertainty over housing targets and green belt land under the previous Conservative government.
The town hall also withdrew from Greater Manchester's joint development plan, Places for Everyone, in December 2020.
Cllr Crossen added: "Residents of our ward have been and continue to be more than hospitable when it comes to new homes in our area, but there comes a time where we need to pause and ask is Bramhall South and Woodford being asked to take more than its fair share of the borough housing targets.
He called for a "holistic, fair and balanced plan focussed around appropriate infrastructure" before new homes are built.
Stockport council leader Mark Hunter said the local Conservative group are "hitting out at the Liberal Democrats without letting the facts get in the way of a good rant."
He added: "They know perfectly well that the only reason our local plan for Stockport has been delayed is because of significant policy shifts by the last Conservative government and now the current Labour government which have forced a rethink."
Cllr Hunter said the town hall this week sent a letter to the secretary of state "seeking clarity on the latest official guidance" on planning so it can make progress with its local plan.
He added: "Stockport council is ready, willing, and able to finalise and launch its statutory local plan consultation just as soon as we get the green light from central government. To suggest anything else is entirely disingenuous.
"We have always recognised the need for new homes, but they must be the right homes in the right places, and we make no apology for being determined to protect valuable green belt wherever and whenever we can.
"Developers targeting Stockport is nothing new and is one of the reasons why former Conservative councillors, since defeated at the ballot box, finally voted with the Liberal Democrats to leave the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework [now known as Places for Everyone].
"Central government targets should never trump local decision making."
~
Free from clickbait, pop-up ads and unwanted surveys, Stockport Nub News is a quality online newspaper for our town.
To get our top stories in your inbox each week, subscribe to our free weekly newsletter HERE.
Please consider following Stockport Nub News on Facebook or Twitter
CHECK OUT OUR Jobs Section HERE!
stockport vacancies updated hourly!
Click here to see more: stockport jobs
Share:
