THERE could finally be an end in sight to peat extraction at Lindow Moss.

A four-year-old planning application for 14 homes to be built on part of the historic site is due to be considered by councillors ‘in the near future’, Cheshire East Council has confirmed.

In the application Croghan Peat, which has a licence to extract peat from the site until 2042, says that the development would ‘facilitate the restoration of Lindow Moss to a nature reserve’.

Paul Wakefield, planning officer at CEC, has written a letter to interested parties to inform them that the application is still live.

The letter, dated October 1, said: “Further to our previous correspondence regarding the proposed development at the above location, I am writing to advise you that this is still a live application, and that the council is intending to determine the application in the near future.

“The application will be determined by the council’s strategic planning board.

“If you would like to comment on this application, please do so by noon on October 23, 2018. Any comments received will be taken into account when the application is considered.”

The planning application was first submitted to CEC by Richard Louis Bond and Andrew Paul Rowland – directors of Croghan Peat – on December 23, 2014.

Wilmslow Town Council and environmental groups Transition Wilmslow and Cheshire Wildlife Trust all supported the plans – provided they led to the end of peat extraction at Lindow Moss.

However, Mobberley Parish Council objected to the development, which is on greenbelt land. Tony Evans, chairman of the Saltersley Common Preservation Society, has campaigned for the protection of Lindow Moss since the former Cheshire County Council gave Croghan Peat permission to extract peat on the site in 2003.

He claims that a failure to enforce certain planning conditions on the site – including the need for a sluice gate – has caused subsidence in the surrounding area.

“Where they want to build houses there is now an infestation of Japanese knot weed,” Mr Evans said.

“We went down to take measurements over the summer and water level has gone down, so land is still subsiding.”

Campaign group Residents of Wilmslow – which has representation both on CEC and Wilmslow Town Council – also wrote to CEC in August calling for an end to peat extraction at Lindow Moss.

CEC previously stated that subsidence in the area is not a matter for the council, and suggested residents affected should seek legal advice in November 2016.

To see the planning application and comment on it, search for ‘15/0016M’ on CEC’s planning website. Alternatively, call the council’s planning customer service centre on 0300 123 5014 for advice.