WYBUNBURY WARD PARISHES April 2016 Responses to the Proposed Changes to the Submitted Local Plan Strategy (LPS) Dear Sir In my role as Wybunbury Ward Councillor, I wish to make the following comments in response to proposed changes to the Local Plan Strategy. These comments are made following extensive discussions with:- A) The Wybunbury Ward Parish Councils 1. Wybunbury PC 2. Hough & Chorlton PC 3. Doddington & District PC (Doddington, Hunsterson, Bridgemere, Checkley, Blakenhall, Lea) 4. Hatherton & Walgherton PC 5. Weston PC (in relation to Wychwood Village that lies within the Wybunbury Ward boundary) B) The Wybunbury/Shavington Triangle Residents Group (A constituted group with 170+ members living in and alongside this SHLAA site) C) The Wychwood Community Group (A constituted group with 700 members comprising of residents in Wychwood Park and Wychwood Village). (NB: The Parish Councils and Residents Groups will also be submitting their own supporting statements highlighting their particular concerns, objections and compliments). Introduction to Wybunbury Ward The Wybunbury Ward is a very rural Ward in character, history, environment and culture. It is characterised by a number of small hamlets over a wide geographical area (hence the number of parished areas), and there are no Local Service Areas in the Ward. Its’ economy is based on agriculture and rural industry (eg; egg and cheese production, mixed arable) together with a small but vital tourist and visitor economy (eg:Dagfields; historic pubs, Bridgemere Garden Centre). So too it is the location of rare Meres and Mosses sites, including the Wybunbury Moss (an SSSI and RAMSAR site of both national and international importance and managed by Natural England). To the East of the Ward at Gorsty Hill, lie the Wychwood Park and Wychwood Village communities. These were designed as ‘concept developments’ with residential properties lying within Countryside Park areas and Golf courses. The Park is a gated community with a PGL standard golf course and Hotel whilst the Village and its Gorsty Hill Golf Course was designed for a more inclusive golf membership. Each hamlet or village has clearly defined settlement boundaries and lie within coterminous open countryside. In 2012/13 each parish completed a five-year housing needs survey for CEC, Weston PC is well advanced in developing its Neighbourhood Plan and the remaining Wybunbury Ward Parishes have been approved and registered with CEC as “The Combined Wybunbury Parishes Neighbourhood Plan Area” 1. General Overview We recognise the overall objectives of the Plan and there is much that the groups above commend and support in terms of the general principles of growth and regeneration, particularly of towns like Crewe and Nantwich. 2. Strategic Green Gap Policy PG 4a (SGG) We wholly support the SGG Policy BUT have severe concerns about and OBJECT to the limited extent of the SGG Area that CEC is requesting to be released to fulfil the requirements of this Plan. The proposed strategic green gaps are acceptable but are too limited and will not adequately address the stated purposes of Strategic Green Gaps (SSGs) which are to: i) Provide long-term protection against coalescence; 1 CLLR J. CLOWES: WYBUNBURY WARD: PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE SUBMITTED LOCAL PLAN STRATEGY (16.04.2016) ii) Protect the setting and separate identity of settlements iii) Retain the existing settlement pattern by maintaining the openness of land. We acknowledge that it is proposed that Policy PG 5 (Open Countryside) is intended to apply within strategic green gaps however this fails to protect Open Countryside and rural communities that are currently adjacent to, and separated from areas of extensive urban and suburban development by physical infrastructure boundaries (such as roads and railway lines). Already significant areas within the SGG identified in the revised Local Plan document are already compromised by speculative (non-plan-led) developments that have been passed at Appeal. The rural character of the Wybunbury Ward has historically been maintained as separate from Shavington and Crewe by the Newcastle Road (the northern boundary of the Wybunbury Ward) and by the A531to the East. In this way Wychwood, Chorlton, Hough and Wybunbury were not initially exposed to urban / suburban sprawl or coalescence with other defined settlements. These physical infrastructure ‘barriers’ have however, already been breached by the inclusion of the Triangle Site in the SHLAA. This site has outline planning permission for 360 homes and the principle of development is accepted BUT Wybunbury Ward residents are deeply concerned that these physical boundaries must be protected if further coalescence is to be avoided. Shavington and the immediate environs of Crewe, (including Basford and the South Cheshire Growth Village) are already identified as strategic sites providing nearly 6,000 homes. If these sites are superimposed on the map illustrating the proposed Strategic Green Gaps (SGGs), much of the land (between Crewe Railway sidings, and the SGGs and in Shavington between the currently proposed SGGs and the Newcastle Road) is already subject to approved planning applications or are SHLAA sites. In addition other speculative developments have already been submitted that seek to ‘fill-in’ any remaining open countryside north of the Newcastle Road (eg at Weston). But of particular concern are those smaller applications that have already been approved south of the Newcastle Road – these directly compromise the rural character of the Wybunbury Ward and represent creeping suburban coalescence from Shavington into the Open Countryside. Again, of particular concern is the application for 900 homes east of the A531 at Wychwood Village, (Gorsty Hill Golf Course). Whilst we wholly endorse the Council’s decision NOT to include this as an appropriate strategic site in the Local Plan, the application has already been submitted and without an appropriately robust SGG policy that respects the physical boundaries that separate our communities, this site remains vulnerable at Appeal. With these issues in mind it is proposed that an enhanced Strategic Green Gap area is incorporated into the revised Local Plan. Additional areas to be included:- a) Remaining Open Countryside south of the current SGG proposal and to the NORTH of NEWCASTLE Road. This will include areas East of Shavington and to the South and South- East of Weston and Basford Parish. b) Land to the SOUTH of NEWCASTLE Road extending from Chorlton Lane (in the East) which lies adjacent the West Coast Mainline railway and the safeguarded land corridor relating to the proposed route of HS2. Extending westward from the railway line; o to include Hough Parish, Lea Parish and Walgherton Parish (North of the A51) (Hough Mill Quarry) o Wybunbury Parish (including the Wybunbury/Shavington Triangle) o Willaston Parish (south of the Newcastle Road) o Stapeley Parish (East of Peter de Stapleigh Way 2 CLLR J. CLOWES: WYBUNBURY WARD: PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE SUBMITTED LOCAL PLAN STRATEGY (16.04.2016) Rationale for the inclusion of this enhanced SGG Area:- 1. The extended SGG in this area will enhance the robustness of Policy 5: Open Countryside. (The current CEC SSG proposal is inadequate to maintain the stated principles of SSGs which in turn, compromise the effectiveness of Policy 5). 2. The extended SGG east of Weston Village and extending south along the Westcoast Mainline will effectively encapsulate Wychwood Village and Wychwood Park between the new SGG and Green Belt. The Golf Courses, Hotel, Country Park Areas, PROW and ecological havens provided in these two developments will then be able to continue to provide essential leisure and recreation opportunities for residents both living within the Wychwood Community and those visiting from the rest of South Cheshire. These important facilities, already identified by CEC as Registered Public Open Spaces, will benefit from a more robust Policy 5: Open Countryside. 3. The extended SGG will maintain the rural settlement pattern of small villages and hamlets that characterise South Cheshire, providing a sense of separation from larger urban neighbours, whilst enabling the extended SGG Area to provide essential leisure, recreation and tourist opportunities for local residents, that are easily accessible for a growing Crewe & Nantwich and North Staffordshire population. - This area supports a wealth of Public Rights of Way including the South Cheshire Way, the Crewe & Nantwich Circular Walk, the National Cycling Network Route 70, Bridlepaths and the Wybunbury Moss Circular Path. - Weston Village, Hough and Wybunbury offer several historic public houses that provide important destination points for these villages and the visitor economy. - Wybunbury Village has an extensive conservation zone that protects its medieval history, two of its public houses and the famous Wybunbury Tower. 4. The extended SGG Area will help maintain its defining characteristics; for example : - Two Scheduled Monument sites (SM13439 & SM 13438): Medieval Moated sites. - Many sites of biological interest (SBI) including Hough Common, Hough Mere, Cobbs Moss, Wybunbury Mere. - Wybunbury Moss (considered to be the finest example of a ‘Schwingmor’ Moss in Britain) is SSSI, RAMSAR and SPR listed. These sites are managed by Natural England and are highly vulnerable to the impact of even low-impact development. (as recognised by two recent applications to the west of the Wybunbury Moss that were refused by Natural England