2015 April: Housing Minister
From: Cheadle Unite [mailto:cheadleunite@dsl.pipex.com]
Sent: 23 April 2015 00:15
To: 'brandon.lewis@communities.gsi.gov.uk'
Cc: 'William Cash'; 'Cheadle Unite'; 'Ashbourne Road Action Group'; Brookhouses Action Group; North East Action Group; 'South West Action Group'
Subject: Cheadle Unite - Letter to Brandon Lewis MP
Dear Brandon Lewis MP,
Cc Sir Bill Cash MP.
Thank you taking time to respond to the issues raised by Cheadle residents based in Staffordshire.
To be clear SMDC have not engaged appropriately with Cheadle residents and have not effectively engaged with The Potteries Towns on an strategy for our region.
In our opinion an effective ‘objective assessment’ should factor in the dire need for regeneration of a very significant number of Brownfield Sites around our neighbouring City of Stoke-on-Trent and large areas of the Potteries. We understand you have received examples of these sites via Sir Bill Cash (they are attached again for reference). Cheadle is a small rural town at the base of the peak district, with aspirations to provide tourism to our beautiful Augustus Pugin designed and built St Giles Church, described by trip advisor as “one of the most stunning Churches you will ever see”, Churnet Valley Railway (recently redeveloped), Alton Towers (A top UK attraction set in beautiful gardens), Foxfield Railway and numerous other attractions. The swell of our town with excessive new housing will destroy a large part of what we consider to be the key tourism features of the town which residents and businesses wish to protect from turning into another ‘Clone Britain town’. We do not have the road infrastructure or capacity to handle significant new development and deliver on those aims the very aspect of our town is now under threat along with Greenfield and agricultural land. Meanwhile around the Potteries residents live around boarded wasteland where affordable good quality family sized housing can be built for a proven hard working community with sustainable nearby work opportunities.
We believe that the relaxation of planning laws through the new National Planning Policy and the Localism Act is drawing the wrong Councils to promote development (to secure the New Homes Bonus) and developers away from Brownfield Sites around the Potteries and into our area with a long term damaging effect to both the Potteries and Cheadle in our region.
We believe we have supplied sufficient evidence to raise concerns within the Department for Communities and Local Government, to indicate that pro-active action is justified by your department to protect Cheadle and ensure regeneration of the Potteries is a priority. Not the re-active mechanism that Bill Cash MP details where we have to repeatedly tackle Housing applications that work against what would be an effective policy.
We have produced a Community Brief that indicates the residents perspective as we see it and how difficult a challenge we face.
The Legacy that follows is not yet set.
Can you please reflect on the above and the attached and indicate if you can do anything further to help on this matter.
Kind Regards
Cheadle Unite Together.
1320 Houses/Dwellings Still Planned for Cheadle 250 Houses In Cheadle North East Brookhouses Development already approved
26%+ Swell in Our Population Planned in 12 years 441 In Urban Sites Around Cheadle 200 Properties on Small Urban Extensions
More Traffic/Pollution. Services stretched 124 Builds Already Completed 86+ Developments already agreed
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