ALDERLEY Edge School for Girls has won the go-ahead for an artificial hockey pitch despite opposition from the parish council and residents.

The school’s grass hockey pitch is to be replaced by an all-weather pitch, and the scheme was referred to the Northern Planning Committee after being ‘called in’ by ward councillor Craig Browne.

Alderley Edge Parish Council had called for the application to be rejected because of concerns over access, parking and the over-intensification of the site.

The council was also concerned about potential loss of privacy, health and safety issues, hours of use, commercialisation of the site and loss of amenity due to increased noise.

Cheshire East Council received a number of letters from residents expressing concern over the impact of the proposed new pitch on homes to the western end and northern side of the playing field.

They also voiced concern over safety due to hockey balls landing in their gardens and loss of privacy, and feared a future planning application was likely for floodlighting.

A report to the committee, which approved the scheme, said residential amenity could be respected through conditions relating to landscape and boundary treatments.

“The impact of noise is not considered to be significantly adverse, and there are to be no particularly harmful impacts to the protected trees, ecological value to the site, health and safety of residents nor drainage/flood risk,” it said.

“All objections raised by members of the public and the parish council have been considered.

“However, the presumption in favour of sustainable development is a strong material planning consideration, and the social benefits of this development would demonstrably outweigh the small environmental harm.”

The scheme includes a 1.2-metre high perimeter fence and no floodlighting, and the report said a condition would be attached restricting play to 9am to 7pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 3pm on Saturdays and no play on Sundays or Bank Holidays.

The report said hockey balls could still land in gardens, but was more likely at present given the lack of fencing around the fields, and three-metre high netting would be installed behind the goal ends.