Use your questionnaire wisely!

In completing questionnaires, it's important to understand that the council planning bodies will be unsympathetic to residents' concerns about the likely negative impact on local house values or the spoiling of residents' views. Impassioned pleas to simply preserve the status quo are likely to fall on deaf ears unfortunately.  These sorts of issues are simply irrelevant to the planners' decision making process.

However, there are many other valid planning considerations which the council will take very seriously if they hear voiced by a large number of local residents. These might include:

· Major questions regarding the sustainability for development on all sites

· Lack of infrastructure to support a new conurbation (schools, health, utilities, shops, etc)

· Relatively long distance to the town centre, making walking and cycling less viable compared to other potential development sites

· Lack of public transport connections

· Loss of Dean Row as a separate hamlet with its own character, which risks being subsumed into an urban sprawl

· The planned development of a further 1,000 houses on the old Woodford airfield less than 2 miles away would mean chronic over-development of the area

· Increased traffic congestion, with the likelihood of new traffic lights and/or roundabout on Adlington Road, Brown’s Lane, Cross Lane, and/or Dean Row

· Visual impact on the surrounding area

· Destruction of areas of natural beauty and wildlife

· Loss of open spaces in the Wilmslow area, including the children’s playground and playing fields off Brown’s Lane

· Drainage and flood risk

· Over reliance on this area of Wilmslow for new housing: the area to the west of Dean Row

has already been subjected to considerable development over the last 10 years

· Existing protected status: urge the Council to retain Green Belt status for Ba, Bb, Ha, Hb

and reinstate Safeguarded designation for Bc

Finally, please note that answering "no" to development in all areas is a perfectly acceptable response! The structure of the questionnaire suggests that it is asking residents to give their preferences as to which of the areas should be used for development, but if you don't want development anywhere, then say so.  However, because the "presumption" used in planning decisions is in favour of sustainable growth, it is important that if you do vote "no" to any area, then you back this up with relevant reasons.

Happy submitting!