A bitter housing row has escalated after a firm ramped up security and threatend to fence off land following what it calls ‘misleading statements’ at a recent council meeting. MAN Energy Solutions' plans to build 200 homes on Mirrlees Fields, behind its Stockport HQ, in Hazel Grove.
The manufacturing giant’s proposals involve sacrificing around 20pc of the 67-acre area for housing, with the remainder being transferred to the Land Trust to manage ‘into perpetuity’ as public open space. But objectors insist the proposed site - known as ‘The Big Field’ - is ‘vital’ to the communities of Hazel Grove, Woodsmoor and Stepping Hill and Great Moor, as well as providing a haven for wildlife.
The scheme was given the unanimous thumbs down by local councillors last week ahead of going before the council’s planning committee this Thursday. Representatives from MAN have reacted angrily to comments made at the Stepping Hill area committee meeting - claiming they gave the misleading impression the fields were publicly owned, when this has never been the case.
