Campaigners say a new flood prevention programme would 'decimate' trees around a popular beauty spot.
Campaign group Friends of Poynton Pool have called for Cheshire East Council to rethink a plan that would cut down a significant number of trees. A public meeting with Cheshire East Council in October 2022 revealed a proposal to fell ‘at least 44 trees around Poynton Pool’, with a ‘further 37 trees at risk of removal’ in order to reduce a 1 in 10,000 year flood risk.
This flood resilience plan has been met with forceful opposition and now local resident Jen Hartshorne has created a petition receiving nearly 1,500 signatures and rallied together other Poynton residents.
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One member of the action group, Lauren Forth, 35, says she objects to the council’s ‘incredibly extreme’ solution to the flood risk which 'would be a serious loss to Poynton town if this were to go ahead'.
“What hasn’t been made clear is why such drastic action needs to be taken,” she told the M.E.N. “Especially when the area has never flooded, it’s never even come close to flooding.”
Lauren is not alone in her concern. Another member of Friends of Poynton Pool, Mike Ellison, added: “The impacts of the proposal have been ill-considered and importantly have not accounted for the loss of the immense value that the trees represent”. He added, “When the trees have been removed, they will not be replaced.”
The action group’s environmental expert, Andrew Emmerson, has raised another issue after claiming to have found evidence of red listed species in the area and consequently urging Cheshire East Council to do a formal Environmental Impact Assessment Report.
“If they did one of those I think the hope would be that they would realise the amount of damage that would be done”, Lauren explains. “And of course, ultimately we want them to formulate a new plan to prevent the flood risk that wouldn’t cause so much damage to the area.”
Following the recent success of a community walk in February which saw over 400 residents in attendance to help raise awareness, Friends of Poynton Pool now have plans to organise a second community walk in the coming months. Plans are being put in place to organise a community gig as well as creating t-shirts, posters, and leaflets for local businesses to get involved in the campaign.
Lauren added: “It’s about engaging and activating the local community to make sure that an area that the vast majority of residents in Poynton know and love isn’t destroyed when it doesn’t need to be.”
As the Manchester Evening News understands, Poynton Town Council has publicly supported the Friends of Poynton Pool. A spokesperson for the council said: “The Town Council is asking for Cheshire East as the owner of the land to reconsider the proposals and to come up with alternative suggestions which would minimise the loss of the trees and this very important habitat”.
A Cheshire East Council spokesperson said: “The council is continuing to work towards the submission of a planning application for the works, which will take place in due course”.
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