Latest twist in saga over controversial new Cheshire town letter
Review underway into who authorised sending letter in council leaders’ names
Adlington residents protesting against the proposed new town
Cheshire East’s economic development department drafted the controversial letter which appeared to support the Adlington new town proposal and a review is underway into who authorised sending it in the council leaders’ names. The letter, which was sent to New Towns Task Force chair Sir Michael Lyons in June, bore the electronic signatures of council leader Nick Mannion (Macclesfield, Lab) and deputy Michael Gorman (Wilmslow, Ind) and appeared to show the council’s support for plans for a new 20,000-home town at Adlington.
It led to calls for the two to resign and a vote of no confidence in their leadership at full council last month, which they survived. But during that meeting it emerged that Cllr Gorman had not even been in the country when his signature was put to the letter – and that he had not agreed to it.
Cllr Gorman told last month’s meeting: “I did not approve the letter as asked to on June 18 as I had real concerns that the proposal was not aligned to the local plan or our policy framework. The letter was forwarded to Sir Michael Lyons on June 19 with my electronic signature. On that day, I was out of the country on annual leave.”
Cllr Mannion told the Local Democracy Reporting Service this week: “Both myself and the deputy leader want to get to the bottom of the circumstances around how the letter was sent out with that wording.” Both councillors apologised publicly for the letter at a meeting in December and voted with the full council in unanimously opposing the Adlington new town proposal.
The LDRS contacted the council last week and asked:
- who wrote the letter?
- who authorised Cllr Gorman’s signature to be used?
- who approved it being sent?
- whether any action has been taken against the person involved.
An email from Cheshire East stated: “Council officers in economic development drafted the letter. The matter of who authorised and approved the letter will be under review.”
With regard to whether any action would be taken regarding the person involved, it stated: “The review is to commence, as such we cannot answer this question at this time.” Adlington is one of 12 sites being considered for a new standalone town and up to 20,000 homes could be built on greenfield land around the existing village if the proposal goes ahead.
The controversial letter was referred to at a select committee hearing when Sir Michael Lyons was asked what consultation there had been with local leaders before the task force made its recommendations on possible sites. Sir Michael used Adlington as an example and said: “When we came to prepare our report for government, we explicitly asked, in every case, the relevant local authority, were they content to be listed amongst those areas which we were recommending to government.
“In that case, Adlington responded by a letter signed by the leader and the deputy leader saying they were.” Poynton councillor Hayley Whitaker (Con) later said she believed the letter had ‘sealed the fate of Adlington’.
No decision has yet been made on which areas will definitely go forward for new town development. That decision will be taken by the Secretary of State for Housing.