Local MP Sir Graham Brady has labelled plans to build 2,400 homes on green belt land between Timperley and Hale Barns as “disproportionate, unreasonable and inconsistent”.
Greater Manchester’s new housing and employment masterplan, the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF), is proposing to build the homes – only 30% of which will be “affordable” – on a large plot of land known as the Timperley Wedge, which sits to the south east of Timperley on countryside between the Well Green and Davenport Green on one side and Newall Green and the Roundthorn Industrial Estate on the other.
A mixture of family homes and flats, the new development – a reduction from the 3,300 homes outlined in an original 2016 plan – is set to be delivered by 2037 and will include the creation of new infrastructure to support it: a new local centre with shops for the community, education and health facilities, green spaces, and sports and recreation facilities.
A consultation about the plans closed yesterday, and Brady wrote to the GMSF to argue that brownfield sites should be used for the housing, not green belt.
He said: “Trafford’s allocation of housebuilding under these proposals along with the sacrifice of green belt land is disproportionate, unreasonable and inconsistent.
“I support the provision of affordable housing across Greater Manchester however these plans neglect the potential of brownfield sites, instead they involve building on precious green belt.
“The proposals would have a huge impact on my constituents and I would urge the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to reconsider its proposals. The Housing Minister has made it clear that the national projections are not targets for the number of houses in each borough, it is a matter for local determination.”
As part of the plans, there will also be an increase in transport links, including a Metrolink extension to Manchester Airport, enhanced public transport, and a new faster road between Altrincham and the airport. The £1billion development of Airport City is cited as a key driver in the site’s location.
But Brady said the potential impact of the new housing on transport and congestion was “concerning”.
