RESIDENTS are up in arms over housing plans they say would affect access to an area popular with families, ramblers and dog walkers.

Ian Moore from Holmes Chapel is seeking approval from Cheshire East Council to build five apartments on one block on land off Bramhall Drive in Holmes Chapel.

The site is a vacant piece of land and is used for access to the woodland area to the north of the site.

It is proposed to create a new vehicle access off Bramhall Drive to provide parking spaces for up to five vehicles at the back of the site.

The plans have sparked opposition from numerous residents, many claiming the development would harm access onto the Dane Meadow.

The chairman of Holmes Chapel Partnership said: “Between 2012 and 2014 Holmes Chapel Partnership managed a project to improve the Dane Meadow recreation area, including the provision of a new Bridleway.

“The project included the upgrade of the access gate and footpath leading down from Bramhall Drive through Cotton Wood to the Dane Meadow, including the siting of an information sign.

“This access is one of the two most used ways of reaching the Dane Meadow – popular with local families, ramblers and dog walkers.

“The proposed development will apparently replace the current access path with a ‘narrow path’ making the entrance significantly less accessible, especially to less able persons.

“Cotton Wood, together with the Dane Meadow, is an important area of scientific interest and is one of very few wooded areas on the edge of Holmes Chapel.”

A resident from Jodrell Close said: “The application offers inadequate parking and will block, partially or otherwise, access to one of the only green area left undeveloped in the village.

A resident from Dunoon Close said: “The site is public space and a key access point to Dane Meadow, where I and many others take my children walking. Insufficient on-site parking will result in inappropriate street parking close to a junction and on a bend.”

A Poplar Drive resident said: “Development would detract from the open and attractive access to Dane Meadow. Insufficient on-site parking will result in inappropriate street parking close to a junction and on a bend.”

A Beeston Close resident said: “Although the proposal appears to offer a narrow path giving access to Dane Meadow, this is not the inviting, open access currently used by walkers, families, groups of children and dog walkers.

“Instead they will be forced to use a narrow path between walls and fences, this will inevitably be dark and will affect safety.”

The deadline for comments on the application is November 29.