Hi,

Please note that your opportunity to respond to High Peak Borough Council about their plans for development across Whaley Bridge and the High Peak ends this coming Monday on the 10th.

It really is so important to respond to this consultation and make your voice clear, whether you agree with building more houses in Whaley and the High Peak or not. It doesn't matter what age you are. The response from this consultation really is taken into account, and if you dont reply, then unfortunately it is taken as an 'I don't care and I am neutral vote'. You ARE heard if you respond, so please respond. Even if you have responded to previous consultations, it is absolutely critical to respond again to this one, even if you repeat what you said last time. I'm as fed up as you may be with this scheme of consultation, where 'repeat consultations' almost seem designed to wear you down to the point where you cant be bothered to respond, but THIS really is the consultation that matters MOST, so please make your voice heard again!


So, if you do care, then please respond by going to http://highpeak-consult.objective.co.uk/portal  , and respond to the consultation, which asks for responses to a number of questions. The C9 site(Macclesfield Road) is included in this, so you can state your objection there if you wish. There are other proposed sites in Whaley that you can have your say on too, so please do so.

You can also always write in your objections and concerns to LDF@highpeak.gov.uk or write to Regeneration, High Peak Borough Council, Town Hall, Buxton SK17 6EL, but note that the cutoff date for all of this is THIS MONDAY 10th FEB.

There is a cumulative effect with all the proposed development in the local area which is going to hit us all. The 900+ houses in Chapel that are proposed will have an enormous impact on Whaley, on top of the possible 107 houses on Macclesfield Road .

If you cannot be bothered to reply to the consultation, then please do not moan at me or other Town Councilors in the future when Whaley Bridge is covered in houses, you cannot drive through it , your kids cannot get into the primary schools, the secondary school in Chapel is restricted in entry , you cannot see a doctor, and the village floods every year ! Hopefully it may not be as bad as that, but I believe that further large scale development in Whaley Bridge is unsustainable.
You can argue with me or agree with me at any time if you want, but unless you actually respond to the consultation and make your views known, you might as well be arguing in outer space as far as it actually matters :)

I would also ask those with a head for statistics and numbers amongst you to cast your eyes on the 'objective assessment' of housing numbers document on the HPBC website (see the bottom document i.e  'housing requirement technical note (november 2013)' at  www.highpeak.gov.uk/hp/council-services/ldf-evidence-base/strategic-housing-market-assessment ) , and respond to HPBC about any questions you might have regarding it and the assumptions made. I have made my own comments, but parallel analysis and comment by others is really important. Please direct these to the LDF@highpeak.gov.uk and cc me as well if you wish - BEFORE THE 10TH FEB. I think there are many issues with this document and the assumptions in the analysis, and I think that the numbers of houses being proposed for the High Peak on the back of it is far too high.

Respond to the consultation at http://highpeak-consult.objective.co.uk/portal 

Cheers
Jon.

Edited by user 06 February 2014 01:11:15(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Why is that interesting? The person has every right to have to that opinion & may see the positives of the development. For the life of me I can't see any though.

Irrelevant comment.

Didn't Whaley Bridge Town Councillors vote unanimously to oppose the plan? 

I suspect that if a non self selecting vote was taken there would be a much large percentage who agreed. Only a few hundred people out of the town's population of several thousand actually cared enough to comment.



Indeed. But the decision should be made on the facts and not be swayed either way by self interested opinion.

Edited by user 11 February 2014 12:29:45(UTC)  | Reason: Sorting out format

Do you really think these houses will be bought by people who were brought up in Whaley Bridge #getreal  

whether "locally" populated or not, the place is growing. Those that have children have an unavoidable fact in front of them: the world changes and people will need to be accommodated. I was under the impression that a proportion of these were affordable housing? Every market place, including housing, has an entry price, for some it will be too high, that's a fact of life...Much as we would all love a freeze in time, people will move, .....nowhere stays the same and never has. All we can ask is that the expansion happens sensitively and positively.

As someone who moved into Whaley nearly 15 years ago I feel like a hypocrite when I say I oppose the new houses. Had more housing not been built I probably would not have moved to the village but there are several concerns for me with this development: firstly the loss of brown belt land but realistically this will happen wherever they build, next the access on Linglongs - it's hard enough to pull out onto Macc Road as it is and I dread to think what it would be like at peak times, I know that the local schools are all but full - bigger class sizes impacts on the quality of the teaching and the buildings do not have room to have additional classes, there is also the pressure on the doctors and other essential services etc.

I doubt that anyone would be happy to have 107 houses built on their front door but I think there are better sites in Whaley some of which have better access arrangements or the potential to have better access. The land at Botham's Hall is one place where access may be better with the roundabout already in place, the land between Ringstones and Stoneheads no longer has cattle on it and perhaps access could be created onto the A6?

I suppose the questions which should be asked first are do we need 107 houses and will they be the "right kind" of houses? The Meadowfield estate always has dozens of for sale signs up whereas smaller properties are snapped up relatively quickly in the village, perhaps more affordable housing is needed?

Ultimately it will probably be someone from outside the village who will make the decision and although our thoughts are read they are probably not even considered.

Edited by user 13 February 2014 05:30:52(UTC)  | Reason: Addition to text

all these houses will do is bring more townies into whaley..................................how many locals brought up in whaley live up jam butty hill??????????????????????????

"If" it's just a matter of a farmer selling a field to a developer (and I've no idea if this is true) then why don't all the interested parties club together & buy the land to prevent the development??? Didn't people do a similar thing on Whaley Lane?
However, this won't solve the problem that we need houses to be built somewhere!!!