Tree removal decision deferred by councillors

A final decision on a proposed plan to chop down trees at a beauty spot has been postponed by a council.

Cheshire East Council wants to remove trees at Poynton Pool for safety reasons, but campaigners have raised environmental and data concerns.

Councillors voted to defer the decision to allow for more investigation and technical work to take place.

Campaign group Friends of Poynton Pool said it hoped this would help "get a better solution for everybody".

It had raised concerns about the loss of trees, as well as citing issues with some of the data used.

Poynton Pool is an ornamental pond dating back to around 1750 and is classed as a high-risk reservoir because of the amount of water it contains.

Ahead of the meeting of the council’s strategic planning committee, planning officers had acknowledged the plan was "unequivocally harmful" but recommended it for approval, saying the harm was "outweighed by the need".

Gwenda Mayers from Friends of Poynton Pool, said the deferral decision was "exactly what we want".

"We’ll now hopefully work with the council and get a better solution for everybody," she said.

"I feel that our concerns about data have been listened to but we’re not there yet."

Knutsford's Conservative councillor Stewart Gardiner, who proposed the deferral, said: "I thought there were still too many outstanding issues that needed to be addressed, particularly regarding data."

He said he was keen to make sure there were "no other alternatives" to the plan before it was approved.

Conservative councillor for Wybunbury, Janet Clowes, who seconded the deferral motion, said the authority had a responsibility to ensure the future safety of the residents, but added that she felt "somewhat anxious and perturbed that there is such a variance in the data".

Macclesfield West and Ivy Labour councillor, Mary Brooks, said she could not support the application, highlighting it was contrary to 22 of the council’s own policies.

Conservative councillor Lesley Smeatham, who represents Gawsworth, said she had seen a lot of flooding in her ward in recent years, and she felt “something is really needed in this area”.

Heather Seddon, Labour councillor for Congleton West, said the authority had a statutory duty to protect the public, adding: "I don’t think we should defer, we are just kicking the can down the road."

Eight councillors voted for the plans to be deferred, with three against.

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