Henbury residents will have noticed the arrival of heavy machinery and site offices in the area opposite the Cock Inn and read in last week's Macclesfield Express about concerns that work was about to begin on the building of houses between Chelford Road and Whirley Road before conditions attached to the Planning Application had been properly discharged.
Despite urgent requests by Henbury Parish Council (HPC) to Cheshire East Council Planning for clarification of the situation, over 400 trees planted by the community eight years ago with the permission of the then landowner, were ripped out by Bellway Homes contractors last week.
Our photos show the trees being planted, how they looked a couple of weeks ago and the them being removed.
The Facebook page of Save Macclesfield Greenbelt records how those who are so concerned about the loss of these trees made their presence felt at the site.
We asked HPC how they see the situation of the Bellway Homes Planning Application today and here is their response.
Henbury Parish Council along with other interested parties have been closely watching the planning applications for the proposed developments to the north of Chelford Road. You may recall one application19/3097 was passed but with strict conditions that are required to be adhered to before works can commence. The other application 19/3098 was for a further development of some 23 houses. This was refused by planners. Henbury PC have been waiting to see that the conditions are upheld and that a further planning application to remove the requirement to install traffic lights at Broken Cross is thoroughly examined.
We were made aware that site offices and equipment arrived on Chelford Road opposite the Cock Inn on Tuesday last week. Further investigation revealed the fact that Bellway homes and their agent provided an application to discharge the conditions attached to 19/3097, including the vital Materials Management Plan related to peat handling. In their application the address of the development was given as Whirley Road and not Chelford Road, differing from all the previous applications and therefore making it hard to locate the documents on the planning portal. Cheshire East council did not notify neighbours backing on to the development or Henbury PC as they believe the application to be of a technical nature and not requiring consultation. It is also a concern that the Materials Management Plan can't be opened from the portal, so we are currently unable to verify the content. Henbury PC has highlighted this at the highest levels in Cheshire East and await resolution.
So work continues to ensure the developer complies with the Materials Management Plan related to peat handling.
We'll try to keep you posted!