Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, has submitted a formal objection to the planning application for the expansion of Bredbury industrial estate.
The MP has long objected to the proposal to remove the land out of the protection of greenbelt designation – a process currently not concluded as the work on the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, the county’s new land-use plan, has been delayed.
As a consequence of the site remaining in greenbelt, the developer will have to set out ‘exceptional circumstances’ for the development to go ahead, and it may well be the scheme is called-in by the Secretary of State for a public inquiry before any final decision is made.
Gwynne submitted a letter to Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council outlining the reasons why he believes that the application should be refused.
In the letter, Gwynne writes:
“In an earlier consultation on the revised version of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, I strongly opposed the proposal to extend the Bredbury Parkway industrial estate deep into the Greenbelt at the Tame Valley, which is right on the boundary of my constituency. I am frankly dismayed that Stockport Council have pursued this application.
“This proposal would effectively take the industrial estate right up to the Stockport boundary – a very narrow section of the River Tame. This will completely destroy the openness and tranquillity of the Hulmes Wood and Haughton Dale Local Nature Reserves over the river in Denton. There, therefore, is no justifiable reason to lose Greenbelt land at this precious location. To do so will be nothing short of environmental vandalism.
“The proposal will also exacerbate the already poor air quality in the area and increase HGV usage along an already congested Stockport Road, as many commercial vehicles currently have to access the motorway network at the M67 north of Crown Point because of the inaccessibility of the M60 at Bredbury owing to the low railway bridges.”