A PUBLIC consultation on the disposal of playing field land at Longridge gets under way today, Thursday, with residents urged to have their say on the potential sale.

Cheshire East Council is proposing to sell the open green space at Higher Downs to developers, who would use it to construct an access road to their proposed 225-home, local plan-approved site.

The road is said to be needed to access the site – opposite the Longridge estate – because the strip of land east of Longridge itself is the subject of an historical covenant.

Residents’ group Knutsford Residents of Over Ward, who – along with the town council – have been working to understand and overturn the covenant, with Manchester City Council, Great Places Housing Group and around 50 homeowners thought to be relevant parties.

Jeff Gazzard, co-chairman of KROW, says the consultation – which runs until Friday, December 15 – is a smokescreen for ‘complex’ plans to sell the land to developers Dewscope.

He said: “There is a clear, massive conflict of interest for CEC here as they are the land owner, planning authority and in charge of our local plan.

“We will respond to CEC’s request for views. We will also expand our campaign to prevent the sale of the green belt land and seek to widen knowledge of the sale of the covenanted land at Longridge, to other regulatory and Government bodies who we trust will share our concerns.”

Among KROW’s concerns are that selling the green belt land to access the land-locked potential housing site would contradict the recently-adopted local plan, setting a dangerous precedent.

A CEC spokesman said: “It is believed that the proposed housing scheme could help to contribute to the regeneration of the Longridge estate and substantially increase the amount of open space in the area for the benefit of the people of Knutsford.

“Any loss of public open space could be offset by the creation of about 20 acres of new public open space within the proposed residential development scheme.

“The potential development site has been allocated within the Cheshire East Local Plan Strategy and is one of a number of sites across the borough where much-needed new homes could be built in order that the council can meet its housing target.

“The council believes that, should the development scheme be approved at the planning stage, the proposal would remove a physical buffer between new housing and the Longridge estate, while bringing under-used public space into economic use in a significantly enhanced form.”

The consultation will ask for comments on the proposed sale. Visit bit.ly/2mCi6N6 – the link will take you to CEC’s website.