Macclesfield: Danes Moss petition against housing passes 6,000 signature milestone
A petition to block a controversial housing development in Macclesfield has passed 6,000 signatures.
A site on the boundary of Danes Moss Nature reserve has been earmarked to bring almost 1000 new homes, a supermarket and school to South Macclesfield.
But this would involve building on 136 acres of Macclesfield countryside and wildlife, which are under threat from the plans.
A Change.org petition entitled 'SAVE DANES MOSS' has 6,187 signatures as of publication of this article.
Macclesfield Nub News met with members of the Facebook group of the same name.
"The planned development land is 136 acres next to a site of special scientific interest," said Tytherington resident and admin of the group Thomas Eccles.
"We estimate that 72,195 tonnes of carbon, and if it all dried out it could release up to 264,409 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.
"We calculate that is 10.4% of the annual CO2 emissions for all of Cheshire East."
This juxtaposes a 2021 Cheshire East Council document which opposes building on peatlands.
"To avoid potentially permanent emissions the extraction and development of peatlands should be stopped immediately across Cheshire East," the document read.
Peat is a natural carbon sink, and help prevents the release of carbon dioxide, which contributes to climate change.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) peat stores "more carbon than all other vegetation types in the world combined."
But the site was still granted outline planning approval in 2019, despite Cheshire East's eco ambitions to become a net zero council by 2025.
No exact survey into the amount of peat has been conducted by developers, but the campaign group suggest it is at least 2.3 metres (seven and a half feet) deep.
Campaigner Gordon, who used to write environmental impact assessments, and enjoys walking the area with his dog Luna, wants a more thorough ecological survey to be done.
"Of the ecological report they conducted, on peat there's only a one sentence acknowledgement that there is any carbon in there and there is no data," he said.
"They also scoped out the term 'climate change' from the environmental assessment. We can only speculate as why that should be.
"On top of that, there is the wildlife. There are many protected species here, including ones which are extinct in some parts of England like the Willow Tit.
"The developers have said they are going to put up some bird boxes for the birds that live here, but if you destroy wet woodland, you destroy the birds' habitat."
Protected species such as Badgers and Barn Owls would also lose their habitat if the South Macclesfield Development Area goes ahead.
Cheshire Wildlife Trust objected to the plans in January 2022. They blasted the proposals and what it represents.
"[It is] one of the most environmentally damaging schemes ever proposed in Cheshire East," they said.
"The likely destruction of natural capital (biodiversity and stored carbon) at this scale is unprecedented in recent decades within the Cheshire region."
Like with the peat, there is an official biodiversity survey that has raised more questions than answered. An insect survey was also conducted on a wet day in November 2019, when bugs notoriously hide away.
Ecology Consultants Ecology By Design recommend between March and late September is the best time for invertebrates. Not a cold, dark and rainy day in November.
One campaigner, who chose not to be photographed, described the developer's insect survey as 'like taking a traffic survey on Christmas Day - it is useless'.
Malpas-based organisation East Cheshire Engine of the North (Development Company) are the only local company to benefit from the plans, but they are owned by Cheshire East Council.
The applicant TG Limited entered a deal with Cheshire East Council for the South Macclesfield Development Area in 2016.
TG Limited is based in Jersey, and 90% of their shares are owned by Gibraltar company Spadea Holdings Limited, who in turn have two other shareholding companies from the British overseas territory.
The people behind these companies have no connections to Macclesfield listed on the GOV.UK website.
Thomas is urging Macclesfield residents to message Cheshire East councillors on the strategic planning board to consider the outline application.
"There is no local interest involved in this development," added Thomas.
"If the petiton gets enough signatures, we can send it to the UK's Secretary of State for Housing and Communities which is Michael Gove.
"If we need to go to judicial review to stop this, then we will. It makes a mockery of Cheshire East's climate neutrality plan.
"We have so much brownfield land in Macclesfield that is unused. This is probably the worst place to do a housing development in Macclesfield.
"We're right next to a nature reserve on land that is almost entirely peat, not considering climate change and protected wildlife, and with money that is funded through tax havens as well.
"Green space is somewhere people can relax for their mental health and physical exercise, and keeping the natural beauty of our town and the surrounding area is important.
"We will be hosting a public meeting on Danes Moss at SK11 7XE this Sunday February 27. Come see Danes Moss for yourself, speak with others about what is at stake here, and invite your local councillor."
In total, 950 new homes and a link road are set to cut through the peatlands, which is on the fringes of the official boundaries of the Danes Moss Nature Reserve, was once originally part of the reserve.
The developers have pledged to replant trees that are cut down to make way for a new road. However, planting new trees can cause soil damage, and takes years to grow and offset to lost carbon which contributes to the greenhouse effect.
While TG Limited were contacted for comment, only the other party, Cheshire East Council, responded.
A council spokesperson said: "The majority of the development land is under the ownership of a private developer and therefore outside the council's control. Much of the site is underlain by peat and it is recognised that members of the local community may have questions."
Cheshire East Council's leader Sam Corcoran - who is one of the 600 members of the 'SAVE DANES MOSS' Facebook group hoped to allay some of those concerns.
"It is now more than three years since this scheme was granted outline planning approval and it is currently the subject of a number of reserved matters, which will be determined at a later date," said the Labour councillor for Sandbach Heath and East.
"I am therefore aware that not everyone will know the site's history and the makeup of the land, and that there is concern among local residents.
"I would reassure them of the work that has and is still being done by the council to bring forward the best possibe outcome for this land, and our aim to greater explore how we can enhance carbon capture within the green spaces of this scheme.
"The council remains committed to protecting and renewing peatland and the creation of new wetland areas across the borough, and we have an ambitious carbon neutral action plan, working together to combat climate change across the borough.
"But it is important to be clear that this is also a hugely complex site because of its long-standing planning history, ownership and uses.
"Furthermore, this is an allocated site within the council's Local Plan and its development ensures a plan-led approach to the delivery of new housing in Macclesfield.
"The current applications, which have been subject to the normal processes of public consultation and engagement with statutory bodies, will be considered by the Local Planning Authority and presented to the council's Strategic Planning Board in due course."
A Cheshire East Council spokesperson also added "The SMDA is separated from Danes Moss Nature Reserve by a landfill site and as part of the proposed layout for the scheme, the majority of the development will be north of the planned link road, and extensive green space will be to the south of the road.
"The SMDA was first earmarked for development in 1997 and evidence suggests that the peat on the land is not currently active or growing – this is likely to have been the case for at least 140 years.
"While not the majority landowner of the site, the council previously agreed to take the lead role on the development's infrastructure.
"By doing this, the council is working to ensure that the method used to stabilise the ground will protect the carbon already stored in the peat and prevent, as far as possible, further leakage.
"If the council did not proceed with this development on its land, the private sector would take the lead and the council would have much less control over the ultimate development of the land outside the Local Planning Authority powers."
A recent Royal Society for the Protection of Birds report suggested that more than 8,000 planning applications in July 2021 were located within 500 metres of a site of special scientific interest (SSI).
And indeed, the proposed properties are right next to the official SSI borders of the Dane Moss nature reserve.
Councillors will discuss the plans in April.
Macclesfield South Cheshire East Councillors Brian Puddicombe and Laura Jeuda - both Labour - have been contacted for comment.
Macclesfield's Conservative MP David Rutley has also been contacted for comment.
You can join the campaign group here, and sign the petition here.
The full planning documents can be found here.
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