A coalition of local councils is demanding urgent action to shield Cheshire's protected countryside from what they label as premature and speculative housing proposals.
Petition Forces Council Scrutiny
The Cheshire West and Chester overview and scrutiny committee is set to debate a petition bearing 1,985 signatures at its meeting tonight, Monday 12 January 2026. The document was submitted by the Chester Green Belt Alliance, a group formed by six parish councils and several community organisations.
The alliance includes Christleton, Littleton, Waverton, Guilden Sutton, Mickle Trafford, and Great Boughton Parish Councils. Their collective goal is to defend the green belt surrounding Chester and to guarantee that future planning respects local environment, heritage, and infrastructure limits.
National Policy Shift Creates 'Grey Belt' Threat
The campaign emerges against a backdrop of controversial national planning reforms. Recent government policy changes have created a new category known as 'grey belt'. This allows construction on certain parts of the green belt, such as land deemed of 'poor quality', with the stated aim of accelerating housebuilding.
Critics, however, argue the move sacrifices precious green space and opens the door to unsustainable urban sprawl. The Chester Green Belt Alliance's petition presents a clear three-point plan to counter this trend at a local level.
Call for Brownfield Focus and Social Equity
The petition calls on Cheshire West and Chester Council to take three decisive actions:
- Prioritise new housing in areas of highest need and for regeneration, particularly near existing employment zones.
- Update the brownfield land register to maximise development on suitable, previously built-on urban sites.
- Firmly reject 'speculative and premature applications' for green belt land east of Chester, an approach it says would deter purely profit-driven proposals.
The alliance argues that this strategy is also a matter of social justice. The petition states that wealth and prosperity in Cheshire are 'unfairly distributed with marked difference in life expectancy and quality of life'. It concludes that for the borough to thrive, new development must address this imbalance by investing in areas that need it most.
The committee tonight has the power to decide whether to act on the petition's requests or to recommend other appropriate measures to the council's leadership.
