Battle plans drawn up over housing blueprint

SAVE OUR FIELDS: Protesters gather on the fields they hope to protect

RESIDENTS in Chapel-en-le-Frith fear their school playing fields could be swallowed up by plans to build hundreds of new homes in the town.

High Peak Borough Council is in the process of updating its Joint Core Strategy - the blueprint for the borough's development - and contained within the draft document are plans to build thousands of new houses across the district, including in Chapel-en-le-Frith, Whaley Bridge and Buxton.

In Chapel, residents have been angered by the suggestion that around 300 residential properties - roughly half of the new homes being earmarked for their town- could be built on greenfield land off Long Lane, to the rear of Chapel High School.

House builder Barratt Developments is already investigating the possibility of a land swap deal which would allow access to such a development from Long Lane, using part of the school's playing fields.

A Derbyshire County Council spokesman confirmed this week that tentative discussions on such an exchange had taken place, adding: "There is no agreement in place. Before any such development could progress full consultation would take place with the school's governors and nearby residents."

Around 80 people gathered in Chapel on Monday to protest against the proposals. Resident Ruth George said: "The playing fields are all needed for the school of 900-plus pupils and in the evenings and holidays they are used by the leisure centre, nursery and out-of-school clubs. They also provide much-needed open space for a crowded school.

"If the Core Strategy gets passed, and Derbyshire County Council agrees to a land swap, then we will have no grounds to oppose this.

"This is what happens when the council proposes to allow greenfield development.

"If the council needs to provide more homes, it has to stick to its own policy of using brownfield sites first like Ferodo, Forge Mill and Torr Vale Mill."

Long Lane resident Gerard Thompson said: "This is a country lane, and at the moment the traffic running up and down it is ridiculous. If you build 300 more houses, that's roughly 300 extra cars."

Another resident, Sue Blackham, said she feared any increase in housing would turn Chapel into a commuter town, pushing local services and infrastructure to breaking point.

She added: "We are not against new housing, but what is proposed will not meet the needs of the local community. What we need is more affordable housing."

High Peak Borough Council says it has received hundreds of responses from residents and interested groups as a result of the recent consultation on the contents of the Draft Joint Core Strategy, which is being prepared in conjunction with Derbyshire Dales District Council.

A spokesperson for the High Peak authority said: "These responses are being analysed and will influence the next version of the plan.

"The council wishes to emphasise that the proposals are draft proposals and that no decisions have yet been taken on the final locations of new housing and other types of development in the borough."