Hundreds of homes could be built on green belt land around Macclesfield in the next 20 years.

Cheshire East has set out four preferred development sites in the town in its bid to put together a Local Plan which will guide planning over the next 20 years.

The council reckons it needs 27,000 new homes and 300 hectares of employment land in the borough by 2030 and has produced Town Strategies for the 11 largest towns in Cheshire East.

Residents in the first phase of towns were consulted earlier this year and the final six – including Macclesfield – consulted in September.

Residents were asked to comment on 10 potential development sites.

There was public outcry over suggested building on green belt between Bollinbrook, Riverside Park, Prestbury and Upton Priory, called site C.

Site C has now been omitted  but two other green belt sites are included.

They include land between Congleton Road and Chelford Road, which could see between 750 and 1,500 homes built, employment opportunities, a new South West link road, shops, schools and community facilities. Some land would be set aside for development in the next Local Plan.

This proposal has upset Gawsworth residents.

Brian Horan, of Gawsworth Parish Council, said at last week’s Strategic Planning Board: “People want to protect the green belt – it doesn’t belong to us, it belongs to our grandchildren and we have no right to squander it.

“There are hundreds of empty houses and hundreds brownfield sites. Let’s bring people back into the town centre to revitalise it.

“We don’t need 1,500 homes in Gawsworth.  It would destroy our beautiful village – it’s an appalling idea.

“We will fight this every step of the way.”

Land off Fence Avenue, Macclesfield, earmarked for about 300 homes is partly in the green belt.

The  third area is where South Macclesfield Development Area could provide 900 homes, employment, retail, a new link road, open space and improved pedestrian and cycle links.

The fourth site is Macclesfield town centre, mainly earmarked for retail and leisure with potential for 400 homes.

Building on green belt is considered acceptable in ‘exceptional’ circumstances.

But Cheshire East has said there is not enough safeguarded land – open land set aside for future development – or brownfield sites, so it needs to review the green belt and the Local Plan is the time to do that.

There will be new green belt introduced to prevent Nantwich merging with Crewe.

Coun David Neilson said:  “No one wants to see us build on green belt but we don’t have a choice.

“We need housing over the Local Plan period and it’s not all possible on brownfield.”

The Town Strategies have been compiled into the next step of the Local Plan – the Draft Development Strategy – which will go out to consultation in the New Year.

This is the last stage before a final version is produced in the summer of 2013.

Coun Derek Hough said: “I urge people to fill in the questionnaires.”

CEC council leader Michael Jones, pictured, said Macclesfield would have at least 1,000 extra homes if it were not for the proposed new settlement at Handforth East.

He said: “We’re doing what we call a green belt swap at Handforth, which prevents green belt being eroded around the other towns.

“This is a robust document from a wide-ranging consultation which identified a minimum number of houses for our towns so we can argue the case with developers.

“This is the best thing for Cheshire East. We’re looking to protect north Cheshire in the best way possible.

“The consultation in the new year is the chance for people to have their say.”