Campaigners are demanding that the council publishes an independent report which has identified flaws in its controversial draft housing strategy.

The report was commissioned by Cheshire East Council into its Local Plan – which sets out where developments will take place over the next 20 years.

Residents in Handforth who are objecting to its proposal to allow up to 2,300 houses to be built on green belt land have asked to see the full document.

Council bosses are refusing, saying it is private.

But a summary of the report has been released and it identifies ‘gaps’ in the Local Plan and several ways in which it must improve.

They include:

  • Working with Stockport Council over issues such as the Handforth proposals
  • The need for ‘sound evidence’ to support the choice of development sites
  • The council’s need to consider carefully the case for the green belt.  

The summary, which was provided by Adrian Fisher, Cheshire East Council’s planning chief, in a letter to parish councillors, states: “The plan is underpinned by extensive evidence – but this needs to be completed and while much is underway, there remain gaps to be filled.” It concluded that more work was required to ensure the Local Plan was sound.

Members from Hands off Handforth Green Belt (HoHGB) believe the report could reveal flaws to help their case and are demanding its release in full.

Brian Tolver, of HoHGB and a parish councillor, said: “This is Alice in Wonderland stuff – the Local Plan has been out in public for consultation for 18 months, and now it’s suddenly a private matter.

“There’s only one reason councils hide reports like this, and that’s because they’re embarrassed at how critical they are.”

The group is fighting Local Plan proposals to build on council-owned green belt east of the Handforth bypass.

Toni Fox, a co-founder of HoHGB, added: “This is a critical time in shaping the Local Plan.

“It has huge flaws – the duty to cooperate with neighbouring local authorities, the excessive number of developments, the raids on green belt and the unsustainability of gigantic new settlements such as Handforth East.”

Manuel Golding, from Residents of Wilmslow, said: “It must be embarrassed by the findings in the report.”

Prestbury Parish Council has also asked for the document to be released via an unsuccessful Freedom of Information request.

The council commissioned the report by a consultant at Planning Officers Society Enterprises, the commercial wing of the society, which works for national and local government.

A Cheshire East spokesman said: “We want to make sure Cheshire East has one of the best Local Plans in the country and won’t let anything affect the integrity of the process.”

A revised draft of the Local Plan is due before the council’s strategic planning board on Thursday, September 26, before a six-week public consultation is carried out.

It must be signed off by the government’s Planning Inspectorate before the final Local Plan can be adopted.