Campaigners fighting plans to build 300 homes in fields say the proposals would ‘change the nature’ of their village. The final draft of Newcastle Borough Council’s local plan has earmarked three Green Belt sites in Talke for new housing.
Land at Crown Bank has been allocated 170 homes, while a site off Coppice Road could see 90 homes and land off St Martins Road could get 40. But members of Talke Action Group (TAG) fear that if all these developments go ahead, their village will be turned into a ‘dormitory town’, with commuters working in Manchester snapping up the new homes.
They also say that local infrastructure, including roads in the area, will not be able to withstand the additional pressure that will come with the developments. Council leaders insist that even if the current local plan proposals are adopted, individual sites will still require planning permission, and developers could be required to make suitable contributions to infrastructure.
The local plan’s final draft, which includes site allocations for around 4,500 homes across the borough, is expected to go out to public consultation.
Lawrence Tudin, vice-chair of TAG, believes that Talke is being asked to take more than its fair share of new homes.
He said: “Adding another 300 homes would change the nature of the village. At the moment there are around 1,200 to 1,500 homes here. Adding another 300 would be increasing the size of Talke by a quarter or a fifth.
“And Talke doesn’t have the infrastructure to support that increase in population. If the council is going to keep these sites in the local plan, it needs to say how they’re going to improve the infrastructure.
“We know that homes have got to be built, but the suspicion is that these homes are going to be aimed at commuters who work in Manchester, as Talke is very close to the M6. So they’re not going to be for local people. Talke would become something like a dormitory town.”
Mr Tudin also believes that the inclusion of the site off Coppice Road – designated TK27 – would undermine a recent planning decision taken by the council. He added: “One of the sites in Talke, TK27, is just next to a site where the council refused planning permission for three homes, because of the impact on local roads. But how much more impact would 90 homes have? The council seems to be undermining its own authority.”
The local plan, once adopted, will guide all development in the borough up to 2040. Along with site allocations for housing, the local plan will also designate sites for employment, leisure, amenities and other uses.
A public consultation was carried out on an initial draft in 2023. The council has submitted the final draft to the government for examination.
Councillor Andrew Fear, cabinet member for strategic planning at the borough council, said: “The council is obliged to develop a local plan to identify where homes, business and public facilities can be built to meet recognised needs as well as preserve open and undeveloped areas, including 60 protected green spaces across the Borough.
“When sites in the plan are put forward seeking planning permission developers are often required to make financial contributions which are used towards infrastructure such as the creation of additional school places, health centres and road junctions.
“Although current proposals are an indication of what the council thinks is appropriate, this draft plan still has to be considered by full council. If approved by elected members the plan will be subject to public consultation where people and interested parties can make representations.
“Together with the draft plan itself, these will be considered by an independent planning inspector responsible for determining whether the plan has been properly prepared and can be adopted by the council.”