Statement to Public Inquiry
16th July 2013
Appeal against Non-Determination
Land to rear of Land to the North of Congleton Road, Sandbach APP/0660/A/13/2189733
Appeals in Cheshire East affected by the SHLAA in the Congleton Constituency:-
Abbeyfields, Sandbach 2141564
Sandbach Road North, Alsager 2195201
Elworth Hall Farm, Elworth 2106044
Hassall Road, Alsager 2188001
The Moorings and Goldfinch Close/Kestrel Close, Congleton 2188604 and 2188605
Waterworks House, Sandbach 2192130
Land Adjacent to Rose Cottages, Holmes Chapel Road, Somerford, Congleton 2192192
38 Congleton Road North, Church Lawton 2193013
Land South of Hall Drive, Alsager 2196791
The following statement, by me, Fiona Bruce Member of Parliament for the Congleton Constituency, is being made at the request of and in support of my many constituents who will be affected by the above developments should they proceed and is supplementary to the objection letter which I registered with the Chief Executive of the Planning Inspectorate on 31st January 2013, and its attachment, an earlier objection letter to the Chief Executive of Cheshire East Council dated 19th September 2012. As stated in that letter applications for the above developments have caused concern to a significant number of my constituents. Indeed this cannot be overstated. Perhaps I may put this in context when I say that I have had a constant stream of letters, emails, telephone calls and surgery appointments from constituents since I became Member of Parliament for the Congleton Constituency in May 2010 regarding planning concerns and that in terms of my postbag, compared with concerns over planning applications, no other issue comes even remotely close to approaching the volume – or indeed the intensity of concern – of communications from residents to me as their MP. Groups of residents in two towns, Congleton and Sandbach, have launched Downing Street E-Petitions.
I appreciate that at this particular hearing the land at the north of Congleton Road site at Sandbach is your primary consideration together with consideration of the adequacy of the Cheshire East Council’s Housing Land Supply as detailed in its SHLAA.
Concerns which residents have raised with me regarding the above site are shared by residents regarding many of the other applications listed at the top of this letter including impact on greenfield and greenspace sites, pressure on schools, roads, local medical services and other infrastructure, the risk of turning strong local communities into commuter belts and the fact that many of these applications do not reflect local community views as expressed in Town Plans.
It is noted that the National Planning Policy Framework promotes sustainable development – but sustainable in terms of environmental, economic and social respects. In a letter dated 10th June 2013 to me Nick Boles MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Planning) stated in response to a letter I sent – one of many communications over the last two to three years to Ministers expressing the concerns of my constituents about the NPPF and its role in upholding local democratic decision making:-
‘Whilst being pro-growth the Framework does not put the interest of businesses ahead of community. The Framework is clear that the purpose of planning is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development and that the economic, social and environmental roles of the planning system that underpin the delivery of sustainable development are mutually dependent. The presumption makes clear that the policy objectives elsewhere in the Framework provide important safeguards, against which the benefits of allowing development will need to be weighed.
Local Plans are a key element of the Government’s planning reforms. Wherever a Local Plan is drawn up, consulted on and agreed, local residents should expect decisions to be taken in accordance with it. This is a sign of true localism in action. Local Plans, Neighbourhood Planning and Community Rights to Build and Acquire are bringing planning powers back to local areas.’
My constituents have made their case clear to me, and I support them fully – that the development of the land to the north of Congleton Road would not be sustainable in economic, social or environmental terms – as detailed below.
In environmental terms, the land which is the subject of the application to the north of Congleton Road is quality agricultural land and very much part of the local countryside enjoyed by residents with two footpaths crossing it, the material use and enjoyment all of which would be lost together with the biodiversity it sustains should this land be built on. The area is not within the local Settlement Zone Line and any development on it, particularly of the height and density planned would be an inappropriate incursion into the countryside surrounding Sandbach.
With reference to economic sustainability, there is a grave danger that with a high proportion of residents likely to purchase in this proposed development being from outside the area, and this likely to be the trend should other developments be constructed thereafter, commuting to work out of the area will increase putting additional strain on the already strained road network (such as Junction 17 of the M6), and community life and cohesion, one of the great strengths of the towns in my constituency will be seriously denuded. Further, since the Cheshire East Local Development Plan proposed priorities are to focus development of Crewe and Macclesfield, with towns such as Sandbach (and indeed Congleton and Alsager) not being identified as major centres of growth, the volume of development which could proceed, should this appeal be allowed, and possibly using this appeal as a precedent would not be plan-led and therefore, my constituents argue, not economically sustainable with reference to the NPPF guidance. There will simply not be the local jobs to support this volume of house building.
In respect of social issues, my constituents fully accept that some development should be provided for within my constituency, and this is accepted in, for example, the Sandbach Town Plan, but that this should be in sustainable locations, and not to the degree which the above listed applications would involve. May I ask that you give the Town Plans developed in my constituency as much consideration as possible bearing in mind that a great deal of time and thought has gone into their preparation on the part of many of townspeople who feel, and I agree with them, that if localism is to mean anything it must mean respecting their views with regard to planning and developments in their towns. The strength of local feeling in this connection is evidenced by the fact that only last week the Mayor of Sandbach, Councillor Michael Benson, asked me to arrange for him to formally deliver to the Prime Minister at Number 10 Downing Street on Thursday 11th July a letter expressing this from which I quote as follows:
Dear Prime Minister,
As Town Mayor and on behalf of all Councillors and residents I am writing to ask for your help to resolve a growing problem affecting our historic market town.
Sandbach currently has about 8000 homes and faces an onslaught of speculative planning applications which, if unchecked, will increase this to 14000 and change the character of our town beyond recognition.
We are not against plan-led development but our views are being ignored when appeals are heard.
Cheshire East Borough Council is working hard to complete its emerging Local Plan and this has been supported by residents through the consultation stages. It will, however, take upwards of a further year to complete and at present carries on the status of ‘material consideration.’
I cannot tell you how disappointed and disillusioned residents are at the present system which appears to encourage growth at the expense of local communities. The Local Planning Authority should be free to provide additional homes at a pace and in numbers which are in keeping with the expressed needs and wishes of local people and given much greater weight than at present...
In Sandbach, the Town Council is so concerned about the strength of local feelings that it has recently taken the unusual step of launching a Petition which supports the substance of the views expressed in this letter.
Yours sincerely,
Cllr Michael Benson
Town Mayor
Sandbach Town Council
A large volume of house building, even spread over the next few years, in a single town would, as mentioned above, simply not be socially sustainable by the local community and its services. The strength of concern of residents in this regard can be judged from the fact that there are well over ten Action Groups opposing unsustainable development in Sandbach alone.
I should be grateful if you would also be good enough to give as much weight as possible to the Cheshire East Local Development Plan. Local Government reorganisation, imposed upon Cheshire at short notice by the previous Government, has meant that Cheshire East has had less time than other Councils to develop its Plan. I hope that you will be able to take this unusual factor into account. Whilst Cheshire East Council may have commenced its development of its Local Plan later than others, for the reason given above, no one could gainsay that under the present Leadership of Councillor Michael Jones the utmost energy and alacrity has now been injected into this process. I am personally very much aware of this since from the moment I arranged a meeting in Westminster last Autumn between the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Councillor Michael Jones, at which when Eric Pickles MP made it very clear that progress with the Cheshire East Local Plan must be given the utmost priority, there is no doubt that the Council has taken this on board and made considerable headway both in clarifying its priorities and consulting with the local community accordingly.
Finally with reference to the Housing Supply Target, I understand that the Cheshire East Council’s SHLAAs annual target is 1,150 (based on the now revoked North West Regional Strategy 2008) – for the whole of Cheshire East, a large Unitary Council with a population of over 370,000 whereas Sandbach has some 17,000. It would be completely disproportionate if this appeal together with those ‘behind it,’ resulted in almost the entire annual supply of houses for the Council’s area to be accommodated by one town over the next few years, and particularly a town not identified as a key growth area. This would be neither plan-led, proportionate nor sustainable and could simply not be absorbed comfortably into the existing settlement. The Council’s recently produced SHLAA identifies many sites across the wide region Cheshire East sits within which could adequately and more appropriately supply the housing land and numbers required for well over five years to come and it would be significantly unfair to the local Sandbach community, and indeed other towns in my constituency affected by applications listed above, if simply because these particular applications have reached an appeal stage before others, construction on one or more of these sites should proceed when for the many reasons outlined above this would be wholly inappropriate and premature.
With regard to its appeal against non-determination in this case and its arguments in support of the probity of its recently produced SHLAA, Cheshire East Council has my full support.
In closing may I state my appreciation to you for the opportunity afforded to me by the reading of this statement to impress upon you the strength and depth of feeling of residents across my constituency in this matter.
Fiona Bruce MP
Member of Parliament for Congleton
16th July 2013
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Fiona Bruce MP – Transcript of Interview on Planning with BBC Radio Stoke
7th June 2013
Interviewer: You will have heard over the last year that planning applications have been popping up all over East Cheshire with developers taking advantage of two things, the Council doesn’t have an up-to-date strategy dictating where building should take place and the Government has now made it easier to get planning permission in the countryside. Yesterday campaigners in Cheshire finally got to put their concerns to the Government when they met with Communities Minister Brandon Lewis. The meeting as organised by Congleton’s Conservative MP Fiona Bruce who joins me on the programme now. Good Morning to you.
Fiona: Good Morning Tim
Interviewer: First of all, you are fighting quite a lot of planning applications in your constituency alone aren’t you?
Fiona: We are, this is because developers are targeting this very pleasant part of the country to live in and the Government’s current planning policies aren’t helping.
Interviewer: So this is where you disagree with your boss then?
Fiona: I think the Government has to listen. I think what has happened is that the impact of their current policy has had unintended consequences and they need to take action to stop what’s happening. Let me give you an example:
Interviewer: It’s what the Government wants though isn’t it, to get the economy moving?
Fiona: Yes, but I think what the Government hasn’t realised that developers are taking advantage of this gap in time. This is a moment in time where the Government are saying through its NPPF, we want more building but the Government is saying we will listen to Local Authorities about where building should be put according to their Local Plan. Now the problem is, Cheshire East at the moment don’t have a Local Plan and therefore developers are working on the area and they are applying for consents all over Cheshire East. One resident yesterday said ‘its 100 here one day, 300 hundred houses another day” and it has to stop.
Interviewer: Who’s to blame for this, I mean, is it the Government policies or is it Cheshire East Council for not having their Local Plan in place, I mean, you know, it’s been several years now since they, you know, split from all the Local Authorities.
Fiona: You make a fair point Tim but I think what we have to say is, we are where we are, at this stage what the Action Groups who I met with yesterday - I’ve been meeting with them for some time - but who I bought the Government Minister to meet yesterday, what they want is, firstly, they want Cheshire East to have longer to finish its Local Plan, they want the work that’s been done already on the Local Plan which is now quite substantial, to be treated as what’s called an Emerging Plan which can carry weight on Planning Appeals so that means Planning Inspectors can look at what’s been done on a Local Plan and they also want to ensure that Local Town Plans such as the Sandbach Town Plan, the Congleton Town Plan, the Alsager Town Plan, that these carry more influence. At the moment, they don’t.
Interviewer: Do you think there is an element of NIMBY-ism here?
Fiona: When you look at the kinds of figures I’ve talked about I don’t think that can be an accusation that carries weight. This is so substantial, the scale of applications is so considerable that what is happening is land-banking which is where developers are saying, ‘ah here’s a limited time where we could possibly get consents for greenfield’, remember this is farming land they are going for, “we can get consent on these greenfields and then hold it for years’. That can’t be right. And the other thing, apart from the pressure on roads and schools, where are the jobs for people who are going to live in this area if this number of houses are built.
Interviewer: If you build the houses it may bring the prosperity with it.
Fiona: I think this should be the other way round actually. I think we need to look, focusing on supporting our businesses, getting our young people apprenticeships, on getting a University Technical College into Cheshire East, to train the skills up so that we can strengthen our economy and then we’ll have people who can have the jobs and live here. And I think that that’s a better priority than having all of these thousands of houses which could be potentially built in Cheshire East and that’s why I am backing these Action Groups. I have been backing them for a long time and I know how frustrated and angry they have become. They know I am listening. They actually know that the Town Councils are listening they know that Cheshire East is listening but what they have felt was that National Government is not listening to these unintended consequences and that’s why I bought a Government Minister right into the constituency to listen to them face to face and as one of the Action Group leaders said “we want to thank him because he was a Daniel, he came into the lion’s den, he faced the music” and I believe he is going to go back, as he said he would, to Government Ministers including Eric Pickles and take these messages and these requests back from my patch.
Interviewer: Fiona Bruce MP, thank you very much.
