THOUSANDS of Flixton residents have stepped up their fight to protect the village’s threatened green belt land.

The Save Flixton Green Belt group, which has close to 5,000 members, are lobbying the council to abandon its plans to erect hundreds of homes in Flixton.

Group organisers have written to Leader of Trafford Council, Sean Anstee, challenging the authority’s intention to move the green belt boundary to accommodate housing as part of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) proposals.

The group said that the council fails to meet the criteria of “exceptional circumstances” to allow construction to take place on the site and landscape architect Matt Goddard, a member of the protest group, compiled a case to reason why.

The group claimed that between the council’s Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment, GMSF Call for Sites and the Brownfield Registry, sufficient land has been identified for the proposed 750 homes, without the need to build on the Flixton site.

They challenged Cllr Anstee’s assertion that spreading homes across the borough would make it difficult to secure infrastructure funding by arguing it would alleviate pressure on schools, roads and waste management.

It also stated that the community infrastructure levy from developers would provide monies needed for any such improvement.

The group said the Flixton Station land identified in the GMSF Call for Sites process was portrayed disingenuously, as it “grew” to incorporate William Wroe Golf Course, Flixton playing fields and Flixton Park.

They also questioned the reasons behind the site selection, namely the number of golf courses, its close proximity to the proposed Carrington GMSF development and the presence of a “transport hub” at Flixton Station.

They argued that, if the same criteria was applied to Altrincham, it would be a far superior choice; with more golf courses, close proximity to the proposed GMSF Davenport development and better transport links.

Save Flixton Green Belt criticised the “lack of transparency” over site selection and branded it a flawed process.

They also dismissed the leader’s promise that the land removed from the green belt would be safe from developers under a ‘protected open space’ designation.

They said that, unlike the stringent rules surrounding green belt development, the new designation could be altered with relative ease in the future, leaving it vulnerable to housing allocation.

Lastly, the group raised concerns over the absence of a conservation officer at the council, fearing that the impact on heritage sites cannot be adequately assessed without input from a specialist.

Trafford Council said that council leader has sent a comprehensive response to Save Flixton Green Belt group to their email.

A spokesperson for Trafford Council said: “Prior to the consideration of green belt release, the options of increasing development densities in well-connected urban locations; and engaging with districts adjoining Greater Manchester authorities to ascertain whether Greater Manchester’s housing needs could be met in their districts were explored.

“Neither of these options provided a complete solution, however both of these options will continue to be explored as the plan progresses forward.

“Therefore, given the lack of opportunities to accommodate the objectively assessed need for housing, across Greater Manchester and also specifically within Trafford, consideration was given to the appropriateness of seeking to accommodate this growth by minimal release of green belt.

“The approach to selecting sites for release from the green belt is to maximise their sustainability by focusing on a relatively small number of large scale sites, allowing the creation of new neighbourhoods which would be accompanied with new infrastructure such as roads, expanded schools and improved public transport and health facilities.

“The approach adopted to date is consistent with national planning policies set out within the NPPF. Trafford Council has a strong track record of bringing brownfield or sites within the existing urban area forward for development and is committed to supporting this approach in future.”