We are local folk living in the caring, thriving community around Cumberland Street.

Macclesfield is a great place to live, a unique historic market town with fascinating heritage. We want to welcome new people to this area especially key workers buying Affordable Houses. We support a low density, low level residential development on this site that is respectful of current residents and with open space everybody can access, including visitors following the town’s Heritage Trail to listed and historic sites.

Under National policy and Local Plans Cheshire East Council (CEC) has responsibility to:

·        Protect OUR Heritage

·        Protect ALL residents’ privacy and parking

·        Make provision for Affordable Housing for OUR Key workers

·        Make green open spaces accessible to ALL Macclesfield residents

On 21st April 2021, the Council granted permission for the redevelopment of King’s School historic site despite:  

·        Damage to the setting of the listed buildings through 'strident' and 'overpowering' new builds the Council’s Conservation Officer said rendered the scheme unacceptable

·        Provision of ONLY 12 affordable houses when it should be 36, justifying this with a viability statement that shows developer Hillcrest Homes anticipates over £4 million profit

·        Too many/too large houses, with inadequate privacy distances, impacting on privacy and adding to already serious parking and traffic problems for residents on Coare, Pownall, Tunnicliffe and neighbouring streets 

With the support of Macclesfield Civic society and a heavy heart, when the decision noticed is issued, we will start legal proceedings in the form of a judicial review to challenge a decision taken contrary to the Local Plan and other National Policy.

To fund the initial legal work required to take this matter to Court, we must raise £6,000. This will cover the work of a solicitor to send the Council a pre-action letter (and instruct a barrister to assist with drafting the grounds of challenge), to consider any response, and then prepare the papers for filing at Court.

I hope you will support us in this challenge to bring light to the process by which CEC has arrived at its decision and potentially see it quashed by the Court. This is not the legacy that previous generations worked hard. The people of Macclesfield now and tomorrow expect excellence.