Campaigners fear areas of Nantwich are reaching breaking point with the number of new housing projects being planned.
They say roads, schools and infrastructure in the town can no longer cope with more “unsustainable” housing plans being submitted.
It comes amid three new applications for green fields in Stapeley – all of which propose access off Broad Lane just metres from a primary school.
Muller Property Group is the latest to unveil plans for 400 homes with a new access road off Broad Lane close to Bishop’s Wood.
But residents say this will be just metres away from two other proposed housing schemes which are also seeking access off the busy A529.
Seddon Homes have submitted plans for 275 homes closer to Stapeley Broad Lane Primary, and Nightingale plans 75 homes off Broad Lane to the south, close to Batherton Lane.
Local resident Jane Wagg has launched a Facebook group “Protect Nantwich & Stapeley” to keep others informed and urges people to object to the plans.
Jane (pictured) said: “My messages are filled with people telling me their experiences of how bad the traffic is particularly during peak hours and the school run.
“I’m a complete unintentional campaigner – I just wanted to make sure people knew what was happening and how they could object.”
She said when she first checked the CEC planning portal, she realised there were no objections.
“I couldn’t understand why and just thought people might need a bit of a nudge. I didn’t quite expect to end up with over 100 local residents asking me how they can object!
“I am not anti-growth. I fully support more homes for our younger generations and I do not strongly object to this loss of fields or ‘a view’.
“Whilst it is a shame to lose such land – all our homes were built on fields once and this is to be expected, so long as there is mitigation in place to protect vulnerable species.
“Well-designed development plans can be a benefit to a community but these plans, sadly, are not.
“This wonderful town deserves better.
“I have spoken with hundreds of concerned residents. Issues they raise are wide-ranging – traffic, loss of greenfield, risk to children on the school routes, risk to our canals and river, impact on wildlife particularly protected species, degradation of the historic nature of the town, lack of GPs, hospitals, pharmacy and school place capacity, loss of agricultural land impacting our future food security, failure of plans to provide housing that the town needs like bungalows.
“These plans do not support sustainable growth and are unsustainable for existing and new residents who may buy on this site, in terms of flooding, traffic and ecological impact.
“I urge Nantwich and Stapeley to object to these unsustainable plans. I urge the council to carefully scrutinise this data and the evidence of residents, which so clearly reflects the reality of the traffic chaos which these plans ignore, among other concerns.”
She says plans also fail as they rely on outdated rainfall data from 2013, rather than more recent 2022 data, which means the sites could face flooding threats.
There is also a lack of up to date traffic data, particularly since the Baddington Bridge closure has caused large vehicles to divert.
Jane added: “The current plans set this estate up to fail, now and in the future.
“The traffic chaos, outdated flood modelling, and ecological damage here significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefit of building more houses and contravenes the NPPF.
“The council deserve better quality data. Nantwich and Stapeley deserve plans for a sustainable development. Residents need to OBJECT and tell the council of their concerns.
“My voice alone won’t change anything and I know how much this concerns people. I urge them to tell the council.”
Pat Cullen, formerly of Protect Stapeley and also a local resident, said: “The Local Planning Authority must give full and proper consideration to the cumulative impacts of all three schemes on the A529 Broad Lane corridor.
“The combined traffic generation, junction intensification, and associated highway impacts are material planning considerations which should inform the determination of the current application.”
Councillors deferred the application from Nightingale, despite planning officers recommending approval.
Several councillors raised concerns about the ability of the road to cope with extra traffic – especially knowing applications for a possible 700 more homes were in the pipeline.
One called it a “perfect storm” for traffic congestion, while Cllr Stewart Gardiner added: “I do not want my name put to a scheme that in a few years’ time, results in somebody’s death because it turns out, we didn’t take the opportunity to look at something of safety in the wider context.”
Cllr Brian Puddicombe added: “I think we have got a duty of care to the current and future residents of Nantwich.”
It emerged yesterday (March 18) that Nightingale are seeking legal advice and intend to push for approval again without any additional traffic assessment.
The 400-home Muller application highlights their plans in “open countryside” go against Cheshire East Council’s development plan.
But they say that the council is not able to demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites, and in light of the significant benefits the development will provide, the proposal represents sustainable development in line with the NPPF, and under the tilted balance planning permission should be granted.”
The public consultation period during which residents can have their say on the Muller plans closes on March 25th.
When I was younger ‘ popping into Nantwich ‘ was the term used to describe the trip into town to pick up a few bits of shopping. Now it is a queue after queue nightmare, and certainly not something to undertake lightly. We have actually started shopping in Whitchurch or Market Drayton from our home near Audlem. Nantwich is just getting too congested.