The decision to remove hospice-owned land from the council’s housing strategy could cost the charity £1m.

Roger Payne, a former East Cheshire Hospice chief, said he was ‘surprised’ and ‘disturbed’ that land the charity has a share in did not appear in the latest core draft strategy of Cheshire East council’s building masterplan.

The land, on Lark Hall Road, was considered suitable for up to 240 houses in Cheshire East council’s draft local plan last summer, but does not appear in the latest core draft strategy, which was published at the end of the year.

Cheshire East council insists that no final decision has yet been made. But former hospice chairman Roger Payne, who is responsible for legacies and was speaking on behalf of the hospice, said it could generate several million pounds from potential developers if included in the plan.

He said: “The hospice is one of the major assets in the town. We would be able to sell the land to a developer at the set price and the hospice would benefit significantly from the sale.

“We’re talking in the low millions of which the hospice would have a 22 per cent share.

“We were surprised and disturbed to note that in the recently published draft local plan ‘Shaping our future’ there is no reference to the site whatsoever.

“We feel aggrieved that it hasn’t been properly explained why the land, which was initially up for consideration, has now been rejected.

“We feel like it’s been pre-discussed and we’ve been cut out. We want it put back in and have asked for that in writing.

“Nobody wants to build on the green belt but the council has decided that it must be done to meet housing needs, and we think this piece of land would be perfect.”

The hospice, which cares for adults with life-limiting illnesses and costs £6,000 a day to run, is a beneficiary of the land along with the NSPCC and 16 individuals. But Coun David Naylor, who represents the Hurdsfield ward and is against any green belt development, said residents will not support development on the land.

He said: “I do not support any development of green belt land.

“I understand why the hospice would be a little bit aggrieved by this. I understand their anxieties, but I don’t think any green belt should be developed, it doesn’t matter who owns it.”

A council spokeswoman said the four sites identified in the draft local plan in January are closer to the town centre and its amenities, but declined to say whether the hospice land would be considered in the final plan.

She said: “The council outlined the preferred options within the local plan documents during this consultation; however, as this information has been out for public consultation, all sites will not be confirmed until the plan is published.

“Due to this current analysis of the comments received, we are unable to confirm or deny whether the hospice land will be included in the final plan at this moment.

“As indeed we cannot confirm any ‘alternative sites’ where correspondence has been received. These will be further evaluated for the next release of the plan in May/June timescale.”