CPRE Cheshire submits report opposing Adlington New Town proposals

With overwhelming local opposition to the inclusion of Adlington as a potential site for a New Town, we recently completed a report explaining the arguments against the proposal.

Hard copies of this report have been sent to government ministers, senior civil servants, some MPs, some principal authority councillors, town and parish councillors and others.

Read the full CPRE Cheshire ‘Why Adlington?’ report

Detailed reports opposing the proposal have also been submitted to decision makers by the Stop Adlington New Town group (SANT) and Cheshire Wildlife Trust (CWT). The three reports are complementary. Our report focuses more on political and land use issues (including transport), SANT’s includes technical reports on the economic and financial aspects of the proposals, and the CWT report covers the serious damage that would be done to the wildlife and ecology of the area.

Together, the reports show that the arguments in favour of the proposal are unsound and provide ample evidence that the harms and problems resulting from such a vast development would far outweigh any theoretical promised benefits.

The government is currently conducting a Strategic Environmental Assessment at each of the shortlisted New Town locations. It has said it will give an indication of its thinking when these are complete, but that there will be formal consultation before final decisions are made.

What incentivised our report?

There were two key components which provided the incentive to produce this report:

1. The conviction that the decision by the New Towns Taskforce to recommend an idyllic but poorly served rural corner of Cheshire as a suitable location for a New Town was the wrong one.

2. The discovery that this recommendation would not have been made were it not for a letter implying support that was sent last year by the leader and deputy leader of Cheshire East Council – without the knowledge of their colleagues – to the Taskforce chairman. A fact that was confirmed by the chair, Sir Michael Lyons, when answering questions at a hearing into New Towns held by the House of Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee on January 13th 2026

Executive summary

Of the 12 recommendations for New Towns made by the New Towns Taskforce to government, the Adlington New Town proposition stands out as being completely illogical and unsustainable as well as being complex and costly to turn into a reality. Whilst CPRE understands the need for new housing, we believe it should be focused on truly sustainable locations. Research described in our report shows that demand exists in those locations. So, why (on earth) Adlington?

Claims by the promoters, Belport, that work could start quickly in Adlington bear no relationship to the reality of providing the necessary infrastructure in such a rural location. Even the feat of improving the rail services would be a major undertaking, whilst the surrounding road systems are not designed to cope with the thousands of new vehicle movements per day that would be generated. And the losses in terms of ecology, environmental capital, food production and tranquillity would be very substantial.

Sweeping statements about economic benefits have yet to be justified. There is currently a strong agricultural based economy. On the other hand, there is no guarantee of new businesses moving into the New Town. Would it simply become another dormitory extension of Greater Manchester?

Much stronger and more deserving cases for New Towns have been put forward for deprived and/or brownfield areas and should be given serious consideration, such as the North Liverpool bid for a brownfield area of Merseyside in need of regeneration. Liverpool City Region is begging for a New Town whereas Cheshire East Council has voted unanimously to reject attempts to have one imposed upon it. The population of North Cheshire are bitterly opposed. So are the area’s MPs. The New Towns Taskforce were unaware of the Council’s lack of support when shortlisting. In fact, they were misled.

The speculative acquisition of a large area of Green Belt land by private companies cannot, rationally, be regarded as an adequate reason for selecting an area for a New Town. Delivery vehicles such as Development Corporations will be appointed to progress the New Towns with powers over land acquisition. And they will find it much easier to deliver them in places where the infrastructure already exists and the community and their political representatives are in favour.

As far as the Green Belt land being targeted for development is concerned, according to the analysis conducted on behalf of Cheshire East Council for its Local Plan, it is of high quality. The Green Belt analysis, carried out by Ove Arup as part of the evidence base for the plan, assessed almost all the parcels of land surrounding Adlington as making either ‘a significant contribution’ to the Green Belt or ‘a major contribution’. And the entire parish of Adlington – with the exception of the two small industrial estates on the northern border with Poynton – is washed over with Green Belt.

Before any serious building work could be carried out, there would have to be very thorough geological excavations because the area is riddled with old coal mine workings, many of which were not logged years ago. A detailed environmental appraisal needs to assess how this area, with such a high water table, could cope with massive development. There has been no testing to see if the young River Dean could handle the run-off (and waste water?) from a New Town. Questions about health services need to be answered. The promoters have offered health centres but not a hospital, yet both close hospitals are stressed in different ways. And the economic claims need to be seriously tested.

The hurdles involved in delivering development at scale in this unsuitable location, where research has shown there is not a particularly high demand for housing, would be legion and lengthy. It is not a sound proposition. It is opposed by the principal authority, Cheshire East Council, a clutch of local MPs and Town and Parish Councils and 19,000 signatories to a petition. It should not be taken forward.

Read the full CPRE Cheshire report

CPRE Cheshire ‘Why Adlington?’ report

More information

Opposing the Adlington New Town proposals

Cheshire Wildlife Trust Adlington report

Help us fight for the countryside

With the countryside under threat as never before, we need to step up our efforts to protect it. To fight the increasing number of development proposals effectively will require expert professional input – which costs money.

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