Antrobus villagers fight plans for plant nursery (From Northwich Guardian)

Antrobus villagers fight plans for plant nursery

8:20am Thursday 2nd February 2012 in News By Beth Allcock

ANTROBUS residents have branded plans to build a glasshouse plant nursery complex in their village as an ‘opportunistic assault’ on Green Belt land.

Campaign group Keep Antrobus Safe has been set up to oppose the application by Crosby’s Nurseries, based in Timperley, to extend their wholesale business to Meg Lane.

The company supplies bedding plants to retailers and garden centres and hopes to create the glasshouse complex, along with offices, parking and loading facilities for two articulated HGVs, on a site opposite village pub, the Antrobus Arms.

In the application submitted by JR Consulting, on behalf of Crosby’s Nurseries, it stated that following a public consultation event in September, concerns were raised about the site’s impact on highways as well as on the area’s landscape.

The application stated that a Landscape Visual Impact Assessment had been conducted, and added: “The existing landscape structure will be retained and strengthened as part of the overall landscaping proposals.

“The visual envelope of the application site is limited and the more sensitive receptors such as the village and school are to the south-east and therefore will be screened by the new landscape area to the rear of the site.”

Referring to highways issues, the application stated that highways officers had recommended that the scheme widens the length of Meg Lane between the access and the A559 although the lane has ‘adequate vehicular capacity’.

A number of letters of objection have been submitted to the council about the proposals, with concerns about traffic, and visual impact frequently flagged up.

Roger Hemming, leader of Keep Antrobus Safe, said: “Hundreds of residents between Northwich and Stretton are up in arms.

“People in the Antrobus area are seeing this move as yet another opportunistic assault on the local green belt and corporate gain at the expense of everyone’s enjoyment of beautiful, undeveloped rural landscape.

“The nursery has as much to do with farming as the Appleton Industrial Estate.

“It is an international transport and logistics operation with plants coming in from Holland and unbelievably yet more HGVs being put onto the A559 - Morrisons were told not to put any more HGVs onto this road with their development, so why should Crosby's be allowed to?

“The stretch between Stretton and Antrobus has seen dozens of accidents in the last three years - including some fatal.

“Our campaign group is urging locals as well as visitors to the area to write to the council and object to the plans.”

A campaign group meeting will be held tomorrow, Thursday, at Antrobus school, starting at 7pm.

The deadline for comments to the council is Monday, February 6. To share your views, write to Neil Lewis, Winsford Planning Office, Cheshire West and Chester Council, Wyvern House, The Drumber, Winsford, Cheshire, CW7 1AH or visit pa.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/online-applications, citing reference 11?05876?FUL.

Share your views at northwichguardian.co.uk.

BREAKOUT Marbury Clr Malcolm Byram said: “I am quite happy to receive residents’ letters and their objections and I am quite happy to go to the public meeting.

“I have read all the letters that have come to me and I haven’t seen anything that’s in favour.

“It has caused an awful lot of concern and anxiety – traffic concerns are very high on the list but I am looking at it from a planning point of view and I think there are other things that need to be looked at, for instance, is it in the right place?”

He added: “The main reason I can see for this site is that its near to the M56 – that seems to be one of the things but you have got to remember that it is a red route.”