Stockport is set to lose another slice of green belt land to housing.

The council has recommended plans to build 76 new homes to the east of Wilmslow Road in Heald Green are approved at its next planning committee meeting on February 13.

Town hall planning officers said in a report the proposal is 'inappropriate development' and would 'cause some harm' to the green belt, but emphasised to balance those concerns against the 'significant' need for more affordable homes.

If councillors approve the plans, it would create 44 houses and 32 apartments, with 66 designated for 'affordable' housing priced below market rates.

A four-acre site has been earmarked for the development east of Griffin Farm Drive, which includes new access, parking, and landscape improvements. Part of the land is used for car parking, while the rest is mostly vacant and overgrown.

Heald Green and Handforth train stations are about 25 minutes away, offering links to Manchester city centre, and Manchester airport is also around 2 miles away.

Access to the site is off Wilmslow Road via Griffin Farm Drive, which will be extended as part of the proposal. Building on green belt land is hugely controversial in Stockport.

The town hall has a brownfield-first policy for housing, but is facing major problems with a lack of available homes across the borough.

It is also in the process of creating its local plan for housing, and recently asked residents and businesses to suggest land which could be protected or included in future development schemes.

Due to the growing housing problems in Stockport, the government has imposed higher housebuilding targets on the town hall, which means it has to build around 2,000 new homes a year – double the previous goal.

There are 8,000 households on Stockport's social housing register, which has up to a 12-year wait.

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