MP praises fight against housing plan on peatland

An MP has praised campaigners for their "passion and perseverance", after a council scrapped plans to build almost 1,000 new homes in Cheshire.

Cheshire East Council is to look into alternative proposals for Danes Moss in Macclesfield after environmental campaigners fought the plans.

The site sits on important peatland and, ahead of the meeting, officers had said the proposals "cannot be fully reconciled" with the council's peat and carbon policies.

Macclesfield MP Tim Roca said the campaigners' work had been "inspiring".

The original proposals for the site, known as the South Macclesfield Development Area, included 950 homes, a supermarket and a link road.

The council owns 55% of the site while Barratt Homes owns about 41%.

Campaigners had been calling for no building there because of the amount of valuable peatland, although it has been earmarked for development since 1997.

Peatland provides an important ecosystem because of its ability to store vast amounts of carbon, as well as its role in flood management. It also supports various habitats of animal and plant life.

With its power to capture carbon, it prevents it from going into the atmosphere and therefore reduces emissions.

However, if damaged, peatland can actually release greenhouse gas emissions into the air.

Councillors voted to withdraw the plans and look for alternatives at a meeting earlier this month.

Roca said campaigners had worked "incredibly hard".

"Their passion and perseverance has been inspiring and I've been proud to back the campaign - pushing the council and Barratt Homes to rethink," he said.

The future of the site remains uncertain, however.

"We need to stay alert to any future proposals that could put the site at risk," the Labour politician said.

"I'll keep standing with the community to make sure Danes Moss is protected for future generations."

Nick Mannion, the leader of the council, said: "We must strike a balance between sustainable development and the preservation of our natural habitats."

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