A developer has accused Stockport council of trying to ‘wish away’ the need to extend an industrial estate into the green belt as a nine-day planning appeal drew to a close.
Rupert Warren QC made the claim on behalf of Quorum at a public inquiry into the firm’s proposal to expand Bredbury Industrial Estate into the Tame Valley.
The controversial scheme was rejected by Stockport council last year, after planners ruled it had not proven ‘very special circumstances’ for building on green belt land.
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The developer had sought planning permission for a 93,000 sq metre logistics site near Stockport’s border with Tameside, including the widening of Bredbury Park Way and a new car park for the nearby sports village.
It argued there was an ‘overwhelming need’ for large scale warehouses in the borough, and lodged an appeal in Autumn 2021.
Despite counter-arguments from the council and Andrew Gwynne MP - who branded the scheme ‘cynical’ and 'absurd' - Quorum maintained its position at a remote appeal heard by planning inspector David Rose.
As final submissions were made Mr Warren told the hearing that Stockport’s need for warehouse and industrial use 'are very large and burn very hot’.
It was his contention the plan would create hundreds of jobs for people ‘in dire need of such opportunities’ in areas such as Brinnington and Haughton Green, while meeting ‘pent up demand’ locally and in the ‘wider market’.
“Benefits in highways and ecological terms would also arise,” he added. “There is no alternative site.”
And he claimed Stockport’s decision to opt out of the region’s joint development plan - originally known as the GMSF but now dubbed Places for Everyone - had made the need all the greater.
This had left the borough in a ‘policy vacuum’, he said. And with the council’s local plan recently delayed, Mr Warren said it was ‘not in a position to meet the pressing needs of the economy and the people of the area’.
He went on to suggest the council had ‘slipped and slid’ between arguing it was the authority’s role to strike the balance between the green belt and the economy, while also asserting that any economic assessment should be made as part of the local plan process.
“In effect, Stockport have tried to wish away the ‘very special circumstances’ provisions of the framework, despite having brought them into full effect by withdrawing from the GMSF,” he said.
“The needs and jobs case is therefore hugely pressing, and it is not an adequate response in the public interest to say they have not been properly assessed - they have, in exhaustive detail - or that they must wait for years until the plan.
“There are already unmet needs, and local people are already in many cases living lives of deprivation which the planning system can do something to help alleviate.
“These are real world economic and social needs of enormous importance.”
But Mr Gwynne - whose Denton and Reddish constituency straddles both Stockport and Tameside - took a very different view.
He claimed the evidence heard by the inquiry had proven the development was ‘wholly inappropriate’ and ‘should be rejected in its entirety’.
The Labour politician said traffic would continue to be a problem - with high-side HGVs travelling through Denton to avoid the low Ashton Bridge’ - while ‘severe and irreparable damage’ would be done to the Tame Valley.
“It is my belief that the facts of this case are clear,” he said.
“There are simply no very special circumstances that exist to outweigh the National Planning Policy Framework, green belt and river valley policies.”
Mr Gwynne admitted he had been ‘emotional’ at times during the inquiry - but this was because he was ‘not just looking at dry documents and maps from a distance’.
He said: “I am looking at our Tame Valley. A valley cherished by all the local communities surrounding it.
“As my evidence has shown, it is the lasting legacy of the GMC to all generations. It is a green lung in a heavily urbanised area. I have called it the crown jewel of my constituency, and I stand by that statement."
Mr Gwynne continued: “It is a gift. A gift that we have a duty to preserve, protect and to pass on to future generations.
"It is special to the people I represent - something I think has been clearly demonstrated by the exceptional interventions that interested parties have made over the course of the last two weeks.
"It is special to the people that [Hazel Grove MP] William Wragg represents, and it is special to me personally.”
He added that the proposed development was not permissible under national or local policies and the appeal should therefore be ‘dismissed’.
The local authority’s position was defended by its counsel, John Barrett.
Mr Barrett told the inquiry that the council’s analysis was that the valley would be damaged ‘by reason of inappropriateness, significant and obvious harm to openness of the green belt both spatially and visually’.
He continued:”There is significant harm to the purposes of including land within the green belt including urban sprawl, coalescence and encroachment into the countryside, there is further harm to the landscape character and visual amenity.”
Mr Barrett acknowledged the need for warehousing and industrial development in the borough- and the social and economic benefits this would bring.
But he told the hearing these were not ‘a sufficient justification to override the green belt case made against this proposal’, meaning the case for ‘very special circumstances had not been made.
Mr Barrett invited the planning inspector to dismiss the application.
The final decision will be taken by the secretary of state following recommendations from the planning inspector.
