Campaigners to save a South Macclesfield beauty spot from being turned into almost 1000 homes descended outside a council meeting this week.

'SAVE DANES MOSS' supporters held a demonstration in Market Place on the morning of Wednesday 12th October, to coincide with a meeting of the strategic planning board, inside the Old Town Hall.

Cheshire East Council's strategic planning board is due to hear and vote on 'reserved matters' relating to the development of Danes Moss soon.

The members of the planning board who attended at Macclesfield Town Hall on Wednesday were left in no doubt that plans to turn the rare lowland raised peatbog into a housing estate are very unpopular and have attracted plenty of local opposition.

The petition to save Danes Moss from development has now attracted well over 21,000 signatures and the campaign is supported by well known nature activists, including Chris Packham and Mark Cocker and respected ecology and environmental experts.

Protestors of all ages held aloft placards and banners and gave out information leaflets about the Save Danes Moss campaign and were met with nothing but support and encouragement from passersby.

Also this week, SAVE DANES MOSS in collaboration with Cheshire Wildlife Trust have created a 'future vision of Danes Moss', (courtesy of Diana Moss), and launched a public consultation to further shape this vision.

Local residents and anyone with an interest in Danes Moss are being invited to take part in this consultation which will run to 4th November 22 and can be accessed by following the link Danes Moss Community Consultation (actionnetwork.org).

The inspirational vision which can be seen online, on the Save Danes Moss website or Facebook page, imagines Danes Moss being preserved and enhanced to protect the rich biodiversity that thrives there now and for the site to be rewetted, and restored to an active peatbog, capable of storing and sequestering carbon for years to come and help in the fight against climate change. It would be a protected greenspace available for future generations of Macclesfield residents and visitors to enjoy for many years to come.

For those who don't have access to the internet the vision and survey can be viewed at Scoop and Scales, Park Tavern and Prestbury Garden Centre (more locations added soon).

Enquiries regarding the 'future vision' or the Save Danes Moss campaign can be emailed to [email protected], where you can also contact them if you wish to get involved in the campaign.

If you are unsure what Danes Moss or the housing plans are, you can read more about it here, here and here.

The private consultation encompasses a vision that locks in the 220,000+ tons of CO2 in peat on site, that turns the whole moss back into a carbon sink, and to make space for the 100 plus protected species that thrive there. (Image - Alexander Greensmith / Macclesfield Nub News)

See Also: Danes Moss: Prestbury business decorates window to protect South Macclesfield site from housing 

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