The red outline illustrates the area and possible access routes of the proposed development area. Further details are available on the leaflet distributed by the perspective developers.
The area of Abbey Fields within the red boundary is the subject of a controversial planning application submitted to Cheshire East planning department on the 3rd September 2010. The application reference is 10/3471C and it is seeking outline planning permission to build up to 280 houses.
On 17th November 2010 Cheshire East Planning unanimously refused the application at a packed public planning meeting held at Sandbach Cricket club on Hind Heath Road.
Click to view the October News Letter which provides information on the application.
Appeal - April 2011
Sine the refusal the developers, Fox Land and Property of Congleton, have lodged a professionally prepared appeal against the council's decision.
A Public Inquiry took place at the Oakley centre in Crewe last week on 19, 20, and 21 of April. The inquiry concluded on Wednesday 27th April.
ABBEYFIELDS HOUSING APPLICATION – PUBLIC INQUIRY SITE VISIT
On Wednesday 27th April there was an accompanied site visit by the planning inspector who was shown the proposed area of development, the access points, and other relevant sites within Sandbach. The inspector was accompanied by two representatives from the developers and a member of the Cheshire East Council planning department.
The inquiry had been told that there is strong local opposition to the application so it was very appropriate that so many residents took the trouble to display signs demonstrating their support for the council. The abundance of these signs was pointed out to the inspector who readily acknowledged that public opinion was clearly against the development.
During the site visit it was only permissible to point out locations and features relating to evidence that had already been given at the inquiry. Since by this stage the inquiry had been officially brought to a conclusion she was not able to consider any further evidence or opinion.
Friends Of Abbey Fields are grateful to all those who demonstrated their support by displaying signs during the site visit. Since the inspector has now concluded the inquiry and is in the process of considering evidence and preparing a recommendation, the signs have by now served their purpose and so can be removed at your own discretion and convenience.
Since the appeal the planning inspectorate has made it known that the Department for Communities and Local Government will issue a decision by 2nd August 2011.
Friends of Abbey Fields Update 31/03/2011
Just a note to let you all know how Dianne Wilson and Fay Neumann got on at Westfields. Two members of Cheshire East were present, two members of Sandbach United's board and local councillor Barry Moran were also in attendance.
The project is currently on schedule and is due to be completed the first week of October this year, with the possibility of the artificial pitch being available to SUFC some time late Summer. It is hoped the grass pitches will be ready for play from April/May 2012. The scheme has been agreed on a 'Fixed Price' basis and Cheshire East are adamant it will not be permitted to run over budget. SUFC have contributed £120,000 towards the project and have had 450 young trees donated to them from the Woodland Trust which will go towards comprehensive landscaping. The newly positioned ranch-style fencing will be backed by new hedgerow, which once established will allow for the removal of the fencing.
The land, now owned by Cheshire East is to be leased to SUFC on a 99 year lease which contains stringent conditions, which obviously must be upheld by the club. Once the handover has taken place, SUFC will be solely responsible, at their own cost, for the maintenance and security of the site.
Whilst we understand that many people still feel chagrin at this situation and certainly those living in close proximity will be disturbed by noise, the developer is contracted to working within the hours of 8.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. Monday to Friday and 8.00 a.m. and 12.00 noon Saturday.
On a positive note, Cheshire East and SUFC are dedicated to ensuring that the Wheelock Trail is a priority and once work is complete, every effort will be made to reinstate any part of the Trail damaged during the construction. SUFC are also committed to being 'Good Neighbours' and showed an open willingness to offer solutions to comply with issues raised at yesterday's meeting.
For your information the next meeting is due to be held on 10th May 2011 (this is for Liaison Committee Members only), so any questions you may wish to put to the committee can be done so through me or Dianne. However, if any rather more pressing issues arise in the meantime, don't hesitate to contact us and we can hopefully get a response from Cheshire East before then.
17th November 2010
At the meeting held on 17th November 2010 the Cheshire East Planning Committee unanimously voted to decline application 10/3471C. After the first few speeches by council experts and members of the council it seemed likely that the vote would go against the application. Nobody spoke in favour of it, and at one point a member of the council even questioned the point of continuing the debate. In terms of the objectives of FOAF and most local residents, this has been welcome victory. However the applicant has a right to appeal against the decision and given their level of commitment to the project we should anticipate then doing so. We won the battle but the war may not be over so please continue with your interest and support.
A concern is that the council strategic transport representative had received additional information from the applicant and their contracted experts so close to the meeting that he was not able to recommend transport as one of the reasons to decline the application. By making transport a reserved matter and then by providing detail so late in the proceedings, the applicant did not give the council sufficient time to fully consider the new information. In the interest of only declining the application on grounds that could be clearly defended in the event of an appeal, the council opted not to include transport issues as one of the reasons for refusal. Potentially this has been an intentional political manometer by the applicant who had predicted the application refusal and given that transport is clearly a significant issue they aimed to manipulate the council so as to exclude transport from the appeal process.
16th October 2010
A group of helpers handed out leaflets in Sandbach town centre with the aim of informing more members of the public about the planning application and to gain support from those who oppose it. The response from the public was very positive. The vast majority (if not all the people we spoke to) are clearly not in favour of the development.
11th October 2010
Sandbach Town council unanimously voted to investigate the application
with respect to planning policy and to recommend that the Cheshire East
Planning reject the planning application. The debate lasted for
approximately 25 minutes with most councillors presenting arguments as
to why the development would be inappropriate.
Prior to the public meeting Sandbach Town Council received a
presentation from the developers. Clearly they failed to convince the
council that their plans were appropriate.
Sandbach Town Council cannot make a decision on the application but they
are in a position to make a strong petition to Cheshire East.
September / October 2010
The application for the residential housing development on Abbey Fields was submitted on the 3rd of September, reference number 10/3471C. The application will take a considerable amount of time to go through as the applicants have submitted many supporting documents. Please click on this link to see the application for yourself.
Friends of Abbey Fields are very pleased to see so many letters of objection from the public. The more that go in the better so please be proactive and submit your objection via e-mail, the Cheshire East planning web site form, or by post. Addresses are in our October news letter.
The deadline for submitting responses is 21st October 2010.
The application differs from that on display at the cricket club in the summer and comprises a development of around 280 homes. In order to remove residents uncertainty the developer has opted to infill the area immediately behind the houses on Park Lane as part of the initial application. We are confident that the remaining fields of the whole Abbey Fields site will be included in the subsequent application we have been told is now awaited. This will result in Sandbach, Elworth and Wheelock being completely merged and the development will affect all properties on Park Lane, Abbey Road, Middlewich Road, Hind Heath Lane and Crewe Road. We do not currently know where exits from the site will be located but assume there must be more to come. This initial application states that building completion of this phase is expected in 2016.
One access point will be on Middlewich Road following the demolition of a detached house. Two further vehicular access points will be on Abbey Road and a pedestrian access next to the lodge on Middlewich Road. Abbey Road will become a four lane road as it approaches the junction with Middlewich Road, which will also be four lanes at points between the current cooperative shop and the Park Lane junction. This will involve the widening of both roads and the construction of a main junction with pedestrian islands. Upgrades to bus stops and Sandbach station are to be made by the developer together with a cycle path between the existing footpath and the grass verge for the full length of Abbey Road. They propose a walkway to the football pitch development and access through Abbeyfields for pedestrians and cyclists from Park Lane. As a “sweetener” the developer has offered to fund minor improvements to junction 17 of the M6.
The developer has taken great care to avoid “ruining the view of the field” by ensuring that where the fields can be seen these views are maintained. For example the view across the garden and pond on Middlewich Road will be maintained across an area of open grassland between the houses. Of course, this does not help the residents overlooking the site whose open aspect will clearly be lost forever.
The plans include a mix of larger and social housing including three storey properties. There will be a tree lined avenue through the centre of the development, in keeping with Park Lane and Abbey Road. It is interesting to note that the application specifically refers to restricting the parking facilities available on the new “estate”.
According to the reports and surveys conducted bats are present in just one tree but will be unaffected, badgers will find elsewhere to forage as there was no evidence of them in the fields due to intensive farming though there were reports of activity within private gardens. No trees will be affected on Middlewich Road but 21 will be removed from Abbey Road as part of the scheme in addition to around 24 from the site itself. All except a couple of these are trees of high quality according to the survey. There is considerable new planting contained within the application to mitigate the loss of these trees including new trees along Abbey Road. The land is grade 2 and grade 3 agricultural land rented by Wheelock Hall Farm. Loss of the land to the business is shown to be negligible as they can easily rent further land elsewhere; turf growing and animal grazing were apparently plagued by problems of vandalism and dog fouling.
The site is relatively enclosed, has no public access and is classed as having low sensitivity to change. Abbeyfields house however has a high sensitivity to change and will be well shielded by new tree planting from the proposed development. Houses on Park Lane will be partially shielded by planted trees within 15 years. These houses on Park Lane and the houses on Abbey Road have only a medium distance view currently before seeing each other across the fields. The affect of the development on these roads is described as moderately adverse until the new trees mature when it will reduce to slightly adverse.
We do not know how many properties will be included in the next application but this is obviously a major enlargement of the town, especially when taken with the development proposed for Hind Heath Road which comprises a further 270 homes.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
As you would expect, we are intending to fight this proposal with all vigour and would encourage all residents of the town to do the same. We will issue a generic objection letter in due course but we request you begin to consider your own objections over the next couple of weeks. We intend to issue a newsletter and further information as soon as possible. Each individual member of a household can object, even those under 16; the more objection letters that go in the better chance we have of defending the land. Please speak to as many of your neighbours, friends and relatives as possible and remember that objections can come from anywhere, not just around the site. Letters to councillors would be welcomed too and we will be publishing their contact details shortly.
Objection letters should concentrate on planning issues related to this application alone, loss of amenity and identity, highways, noise, town character, joining Elworth with Sandbach, housing need (brown field sites are available) and town infrastructure. They should be with the council before noon on the 21 October 2010. It is possible to object on the council web site.
This is a staggeringly complex proposal which will take many hours to go through. We have hereby provided our assessment of what we have read thus far but cannot confirm at this stage that all aspects mentioned will be contained within the final development nor that our understanding of the application is correct.
Thank you for your continued support.
Friends Of Abbey Fields is a properly constituted experienced organisation that can fight this proposal and others like it on your behalf. The more members we can attain the better our chances of convincing the council to dismiss this and any other forthcoming proposals. Therefore your support is very important whether it be by membership, association, financial contribution, or simply a message of support. Please get in touch via:-
friendsofabbeyfields@gmail.com
MAKE YOUR VIEWS KNOWN to the developers by email or post to:
yourviews@gladman.co.uk
or
Fox Land and Property, Gladman House, Alexandria Way,
Congleton CW12 1LB
ALSO we urge you to contact your local Councillor and our local MP Fiona Bruce IMMEDIATELY.
The more letters of objection received the more likely the plans are to be rejected. All residents within houses can write in – this could double the numbers if both husband and wife write. Friends of Abbey Fields recommend that your objections at this stage are not too specific. The key point is to let the developers know that there is widespread local opposition. It is advisable to avoid using objections that are not sustainable from a planning or legal perspective such as loss of view or decreased property value.
The news of this proposed development is very fresh. Undoubtedly throughout the local community it will invoke a strong response of overwhelming opposition, but remember that currently plans have not even been submitted to the council and that an ill considered emotive response to the prospective developers may not be the best approach in terms of a considered and organised opposition. Rest assured that the developers will be clearly informed that they face an organised, funded, intelligent opposition by Friends Of Abbey Fields. When writing to them we urge you to consider your key objectives. Are you wanting them to modify the plans prior to submission or do you want to convince them that it would be in their best commercial interests to abandon further investment in this site and move on to another location?
This web site will be updated to keep local residents informed of any further developments. It will also become a source of useful links and documents supportive to our cause so please ensure you regularly review the site.
Many of the documents currently available on the site relate to the Sandbach United Football pitch development which has now been approved although work has not yet commenced. These documents will remain available for reference although the site will from now on focus on the current issue.
We are keen to hear the views of all residents who feel they would be effected by the prospective development and will take all such communications into account when planning our future strategy.
Many of you will have experienced distress when you found out about these developments this week. Rest assured you are not alone in wanting to oppose them. We urge you to support Friends of Abbey Fields. Your views will stand a much better chance of success by strengthening the organisation with your support. By afiliating yourself with Friends Of Abbey Fields you will be kept informed via this site, e-mail, and written communications.
