The Stockport village at the centre of a national housing problem
Woodford, a village on the edge of Greater Manchester, is a quiet retreat from the hustle of city living.
Five miles from Stockport town centre, it is a favourite among families who want to be close to the countryside, but still in reach of urban centres.
Despite the idyllic setting, nestled between the green fields of rural Stockport and Cheshire, Woodford has found itself at the centre of a national problem.
The land is classified as green belt, but over the last few years hundreds of new houses have been built there, after Stockport council granted planning permission in 2014 for more than 900 homes, which also brought a new pub and primary school in a development called the Woodford Garden Village.
Developer Harrow Estates, part of Redrow plc, is planning to expand the site with another 500 homes, in an estate where some of the biggest houses cost north of £1 million.
But locals say the village is lacking basic transport infrastructure and shops.
Joan Cox, 80, moved to Woodford in 2011 with her husband, and objected to the Woodford Garden Village development when it was first lodged.
She said plans for more building have left villagers worried about the future.
"I don't know if it could take any more, we've not got much green land left," she added.
"I think it would be over egging it. The house prices have gone up and up.
"We don't have many shops and places to go around here. I would think it must need more."
Ann Cooke, 71, is from nearby Poynton, and visits Woodford regularly.
She said the area is "lacking shops", and that more people living in the village would lead to extra cars on the road, potentially causing congestion in places such as Hazel Grove where there is a train station with connections to Manchester.
She added: "They could do with having a few more shops where people can get chatting and see each other, to build a community – you have to be careful about building too many houses."
One of the concerns in Woodford is over school places, with one primary located in the Garden Village.
Lynn Baker, 65, said the plan for new homes could create more competition for school places, and "bring more traffic" to roads in the village.
This issue of school places has been taken up by local MP Tom Morrison, who urged Harrow Estates to "think again" about the plans.
"Many residents have contacted me about these proposals and shared with me their concerns," he said.
"It's clear that the area lacks proper infrastructure to deal with the current estate, let alone 500 more houses.
"Woodford and the Garden Village desperately need more and better public transport links and I'm concerned that the school onsite is already massively over-subscribed.
"I'm disappointed that these plans have been promoted with very little thought about how the area could cope with more people moving in."
Woodford Primary School was asked to confirm if it is oversubscribed.
Harrow Estates pointed out that there are "high levels of unmet housing need within Stockport," and that its plans are helping to address this.
A spokesperson from the company said the new proposals include a mix of "affordable and older people's accommodation, a community hub and open space," and that it is engaging with the local community about the plans.
They added: "The land proposed for development previously formed a functioning part of the former Woodford Aerodrome.
"We are in the process of implementing a planning consent to provide a range of community facilities and shops, including a convenience store, and we are committed to helping to deliver public transport improvements to the development and the wider area.
"It was great that so many local people could attend our public consultation events in July, and a further round of community consultation will take place in the coming weeks."
Housing is a major problem in Stockport, which is facing 'unprecedented' levels of homelessness as the borough struggles to deliver enough homes to meet demand.
Stockport council was the only one in Greater Manchester to pull out of a region-wide housing plan in 2020 over concerns about green belt development.
In the council's offices on Edward Street in the town centre, Labour and Lib Dem councillors regularly clash over the issue, and the borough's lack of its own local plan.
The Lib Dem minority administration in charge at the council, led by former Cheadle MP Mark Hunter, have governed on a platform of protecting the green belt from development, preferring to use brownfield sites to build new homes around the borough.
But Labour have called on the council to look at the 'grey belt' – areas of previously developed development land in green belt areas.
Mr Hunter's cabinet announced a delay to Stockport's draft local plan this month, after government proposals to introduce mandatory housing targets.
This would require Stockport to nearly double the number of homes it builds each year, from 1,097 to 1,906, creating uncertainty over where all of these could be built.
Mr Hunter said that Labour's planning proposals, "however well intended, should never trump local decision making."
The situation has put villages like Woodford at the centre of a national housing problem, without a clear way forward.
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