Tatton Estate has insisted it is not promoting an 11,000-home scheme at Ashley and that all land north of the M56 has now been taken out of Cheshire East’s Call for Sites process - despite campaigners publishing a March letter in which the Estate told the council those larger sites were still available.
In a 31 March 2026 letter found by Keep Ashley Green and seen by Altrincham Today, consultants acting for the Estate said land submitted in 2024 - including sites north of the M56 - was “still available”, and that work had identified longer-term potential for around 11,000 homes and 490,000 sqm of commercial floorspace.
But Pete Crowther, chief executive of Tatton Estate, said the March letter referred back to the earlier 2024 submission.
“As previously stated, the March document presented the vision for approximately 1,070 homes," he said. "Tatton Estate is not promoting an 11,000-home development and the land north of the M56 has been withdrawn from the Call for Sites process.”
He said the Estate formally asked Cheshire East on 13 and 17 August to remove those historic sites. “The council has since enabled that process and all land north of the M56 has now been withdrawn.”
The only live proposal, he said, is for up to 1,070 homes on eight parcels south of the M56, with a school, shops, public open space and supporting infrastructure. “Neither the additional 2,000-home scenario nor the 11,000-home longer-term scenario is being promoted by the Estate.”
He added that the bid remains an early Call for Sites submission, not a planning application or an allocation.
Altrincham Today reported earlier this month that Tatton had withdrawn a much larger 2024 land bid and said its current plan was for up to 1,070 homes south of the M56.
Keep Ashley Green had argued that the March letter showed the 11,000-home figure was still on the table.
Spokesperson Catherine Jones said: “Tatton Estate said we were scaremongering with the 11,000 houses figure… However, their letter to Cheshire East confirms that not only is the 11,000 figure correct, but they are also proposing 490,000 sqm of commercial floorspace.”
She said residents needed to know what was being offered to the council before objections close on 1 September.
“We are especially disappointed that what Tatton is saying to Cheshire East is very different to what they are saying to the public.”
