Cheshire East should oppose the controversial Peak Cluster pipeline proposals which will destroy farmland and impact rural communities and towns across the whole borough, two Tory councillors have said.

The project aims to capture harmful carbon dioxide from cement and lime plants in Derbyshire and Staffordshire and transfer it via a 121-mile pipeline to a storage facility under the Irish Sea.

The route passes through four local authority areas – Wirral, Cheshire West & Chester, Cheshire East, and Derbyshire.

Cheshire East is the only council not to have formally declared its opposition – the other three have written to government objecting to the proposals.

Conservative councillors Lesley Smetham (Gawsworth) and Hayley Whitaker (Poynton) have put forward a notice of motion to next week's meeting of the full council calling on Cheshire East to 'display leadership in outlining its position with respect to the scheme'.

They point out several parish councils have objected to proposal – which also includes a number of above-ground installations (AGIs) up to the size of one and a half football pitches.

Protesters turned up at the corporate policy committee meeting in April when the matter was discussed.

The motion says: "To date, Cheshire East Council has not set out its position on the project.

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"Unlike our town and parish councils, this council has significant resources that can be deployed to influence the outcome of this project.

"There is the opportunity for us to demonstrate strong leadership for our rural communities and obtain answers to the questions which concern them."

ALSO READ: Protestors call for Peak Cluster CO2 pipeline plans to be scrapped

The motion to next week's meeting calls on full council to note the concerns raised by community groups, residents, and town and parish councils about 'the £5 billion taxpayer subsidy needed to construct the pipeline, the likely ongoing need for taxpayer subsidy to run the pipeline, and the considerable damage that will be caused to farmland, rural communities, and towns across Cheshire East'.

It says there is no real direct benefit for residents in the borough and 'Cheshire East Council should seek to oppose the Peak Cluster proposals'.

The motion is expected to be referred to cabinet for debate.

The meeting of the full council takes place on Wednesday, July 15, at 11am at the SKA Observatory, Jodrell Bank.