155 new homes proposed for Woodley

Developer Anwyl Homes and housing provider, Great Places, are developing a planning application for a 155 new homes on an approximately 23 acre site in Woodley.

Developers, aided by Asteer Planning, have submitted an EIA Screening Report to Stockport Council to confirm an Environmental Impact Assessment will not be required for the development of the site off Gravel Bank Road.

Proposals will see the demolition of buildings associated with Gravel Bank Farm, and construction of 155 new homes on approximately half of the site to the east of the Peak Forest Canal. 100% of the homes will be released as affordable housing provision through Anwyl’s partnership with Great Places Housing Association, with access to residences via Gravel Bank Road.

The western portion of the site, will remain undeveloped and used to meet the scheme’s Biodiversity Net Gain requirements. The land is currently used for the grazing of horses.

While the Gravel Bank Farm site sits within the Greater Manchester Green Belt, the site was included in a draft Local Plan published last year that would permit housing development on the site.

Planning applications on undeveloped Green Belt sites around Stockport have been granted approval in recent years, often at appeal with the national Planning Inspectorate. Since the borough’s withdrawal from the borough-wide Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (now dubbed Places for Everyone), there has been no Local Plan in place that sets out land suitable development to meet the borough’s housing needs, a problem that has been exacerbated by the government’s doubling of Stockport’s housing targets.