Alderley Edge ‘grey belt’ earmarked for 136 homes
Story Homes is planning to redevelop around 23 acres on the western fringe of the village into a “well-considered extension” to the affluent Cheshire settlement.
The developer is preparing to submit a planning application to Cheshire East Council for the construction of 136 homes on land between the A34 bypass and Ryleys Lane in Alderley Edge.
Part of the site is identified as safeguarded land and this will be preserved as public open space. The rest of the site is allocated as Green Belt in the local plan but, according to the developer, fits the definition of grey belt.
The grey belt designation is a Labour invention that can be given to some protected sites that do not perform the stated functions of the Green Belt and is designed to free up more land for housing development.
Story wants to build a mix of two and five-bedroom houses on the land. Around 55 of the homes would be delivered on affordable tenures, including homes for social rent and shared ownership, according to the developer.
Josh Dobson-Brear, land manager for Story Homes North West, said: “Our plans for Ryleys Lane represent a sustainable and well-considered extension to Alderley Edge, bringing much-needed housing to a site that has been partially safeguarded for this purpose.
“At Story Homes, we pride ourselves on delivering high-quality homes, set within community-focused developments. We look forward to hearing from residents and local businesses to ensure the final proposals reflect local priorities and deliver real, long-term benefits.”
Cheshire East Council cannot currently demonstrate a five-year housing land supply. It current supply stands at around 3.8 years.
Grey belt? You must be joking. Why not build a couple of low rise blocks on a small patch of this land and keep 90% of the wild space??? I feel as if I’m losing my mind.
By M I Grant
About time we had some housing built in the village
By Anonymous
Oooh, good luck with the locals on that one!
Oh here’s one already….
By Sten
Another case of developers Greed over local needs of the area placing increased strain on the current infrastructure of roads schools dentists and medical care
By Anonymous
I hope for the residents of Alderly edge it gets refused,
Ask children today what is more important build build build or space to play and enjoy life.
By Senroc
And when these residents drive into Alderley where will they park? Where will the children go to school? All these new residents join the one local Doctors making appointments even harder. The junction of A34 and Ryley’s Lane is bad enough now with all these additional cars it’ll be chaos.
By David Owen
The house prices will tell the real story, a builder making a fortune
By It’s a disgrace , this grey belt nonsense is just another labour odes to bring our beautiful stea
I fail to see how this site, a grass field, could be considered grey belt. That was meant to mean disused petrol stations and the like.
By Anonymous
@David Owen
If the residents are struggling for parking in Alderley Edge, maybe they could park around a 10 minute walk away outside their own houses!
It’s less than half a mile from the centre…
By Ambulatory adult
It absolutely joke… Alderley Edge is rich area it not suitable for Grey belt. It really stupid idea.
By G J Kitchener
All around Cheshire there is a frenzy speculative planning applications being submitted under the auspices of Grey Belt, when clearly the land is green belt. It’s a Labour policy to up the 5 year housing need so all local plans are out of date.
By TJL
I can hear the pitchforks being sharpened!! Since 2010 only 95 new homes have been built in AE, and only 16 more have planning permission. Add to dire undersupply, the local housing association are gearing up to sell off the limited number of social houses there are in the village center further reducing stock…. AE has consistently shirked its responsibilities to help with growth, instead relying on Wilmslow and Macclesfield to take the strain. Get ’em built!
By T.D.Smith
whenever proposals such as this are announced, the usual objections of doctors surgeries, school places etc get rolled out, but surely those are issues for the NHS and the Local authority to sort out based upon the growth of those areas. Its not the housing developers fault if the NHS and local authorities don’t do their jobs. Again I assume that s106 contributions etc will be demanded in which case why aren’t they used for the purpose for which they are charged?
By whatdoIknow?
Frustrating reading the same old comments from people that don’t understand how planning and development works. New homes only get planning permission if they are accompanied by s106 payments to expand schools, GP surgeries, roads etc. Homes are what local people need the most.
By urbanista
Karma is coming for Aldery Edge’s snobbery
By Anonymous
About time Alderley Edge had more housing built not only to meet housing need but also take the pressure off Macclesfield, Wilmslow and Handforth.
By Anonymous
If some of comment makers here want to check the definition of grey belt, it’s held against the 3 specific purposes of greenbelt not the full 5 (the other two are generic). These are checking unrestrained sprawl, preventing neighbouring towns from merging, and preserving the special character of historic towns. Building out to the bypass in this setting feels like it might have a fair wind, especially given a high share of affordable housing and a walkable location to amenity and a rail station.
By Rich X
Good luck to them. About time this village pulled it’s weight.
By Deja
Good on them. Just because the village is affluent does not mean that there are plenty of folk who need homes. This is a sustainable location, in walking distance of the train station and the village. As a local resident, I can honestly say I’ve never had a problem getting a doctors or dentist appointment (both NHS) and my kids both had no problem getting into the local school (such is the benefit of a large local population opting to go private!)
It would be nice if the Developer could build some smaller homes/apartments where older local residents could downsize to, which would help release some larger housing. However I agree that the junction with Ryleys Lane and London Road is terrible (especially at school pickup/drop off times) and would benefit from some improvement.
By Anon
There is so mucyh negativity about new housing but it is desperately needed in all areas of the country. It deos seem that the main complainants are older people who have a home but don;t want others to have the same oppotrunity to live in nice areas. The Section 106 agreement will mean the developer needs to contribute to infrastructure, additonal GP and school places so this isn’t an argument against it. This seems like the ideal spot for new homes.
By Rachel Darling
More unneeded car-dependent sprawl that only serves the builder. At some point the asinine marketing waffle is going to cause trouble – no-one, not even the people repeating it (or getting their AI to generate it) believe it, surely ?
By John Smith
BUILD BABY BUILD!!!
Cue the nimbys like flys on fresh dung.
About time housing development is spread out across Cheshire East!
Story will do a cracking job and will make some well deserved £££!
By Mr Land Man
@M I Grant, because people in the suburbs do not want to live in low rise blocks, this is a family area where people wish to live in houses that have gardens for their kids to play! Get this built I say, the area can easily cope with some more houses to keep the high street alive (as there are a few empty slots) and a bypass which can cope with the traffic. 136 more homes means 136 more families that will have a play to live in a safe, desirable area.
By MC
Cue the developers more like ..let’s get some over priced little boxes built where people don’t want them and pretend they’re needed. What a game to be in.
By Billy Bob
@Billy Bob July 04 3.31. If houses are over-priced small boxes in the UK (and thats true by international standards) it’s because greenbelt inflates the value of land. These houses will sell and be wanted, what a strange market housing is where other people tell you what you can and can’t buy.
By Rich X
The Cheshire East Local Plan already allows for upto 300 homes at Alderley Park , many of which are already built or under way.
By Anonymous