Evidence & Research

A new report from CPRE Cheshire raises serious concerns about proposals to build a large new town on Green Belt land around Adlington.

The report questions the suitability of the site for a development of 14,000–20,000 homes, which could house up to 50,000 people—effectively creating a new town the size of nearby Macclesfield.

Two recent reports from Smart Growth UK raise significant concerns about the Government’s push for large new settlements, including the proposed new town at Adlington.

Adlington’s transport infrastructure is fundamentally unsuited to supporting a new town of 50,000+ people without extraordinary and uncertain investment, and the evidence shows that the scale, cost, and dependency on uncommitted national schemes make such an outcome highly unlikely.

Building a New Town at Adlington presents clear and material risks to the capacity and effectiveness of emergency services. Ambulance, fire and police services serving the area already operate under pressure, and response times are highly sensitive to distance, road congestion and service demand. Significant population growth without corresponding emergency service provision would increase risk to public safety.

Building a New Town at Adlington presents clear and material risks to the provision of healthcare. Existing GP, dental and hospital services serving the area are already under pressure, meaning the baseline capacity to absorb significant population growth is limited.

This summary is based on the Stop Adlington New Town mailing list report summary emails (so far, more is to follow).

The report begins with a simple question. Is a new town at Adlington needed at all?