PLANS to create a Hale Eruv – a designated area that allows the orthodox Jewish community to observe the laws and customs of the Sabbath – are to be submitted to Trafford Council next week.

The Hale Eruv Project Trust is to submit an application to create an eruv route around Hale which will allow the orthodox Jewish community to carry or push certain items outside of their homes on the Sabbath.

This includes pushing children in push chairs, picking up or carrying items and the use of wheelchairs.

An eruv is a religiously symbolic area defined by a continuous geographic route designated in accordance with ancient rabbinic principles.

The Hale Eruv will use existing features including roads, fences and walls but where there is no obvious natural route, the eruv will be linked by a thin gauge wire supported by a series of pairs of poles.

The planning application to create the Hale Eruv is for the erection of 95 galvanised steel poles at 50 individual sites along a 12-mile route in south Trafford.

The majority of the poles will be approximately 6m in height and around 8cm in diameter, a similar height to a lamppost but slimmer. They will be linked by wire, around the same width of fishing line which will link pairs of poles.

A spokesperson from the Hale Eruv Project Trust explained: “Every week our Jewish community observes the Sabbath, the holy day of rest. Shabbat begins at nightfall on Friday and lasts until nightfall on Saturday. Biblical Jewish Law prohibits carrying or transporting on the Sabbath day and that includes pushing children in pushchairs, picking up or carrying items and the use of wheelchairs.

“This kind of activity is only permitted within people’s private homes or a defined local area referred to as an eruv, so by establishing an eruv in an area it allows the Jewish community to observe Jewish Law and still be able to perform these actions outside of their homes.”

She added: “The eruv itself should be barely noticeable. It uses natural features such as walls and fences wherever possible but where there is no obvious route, the eruv needs to be maintained by a thin wire across pairs of poles. This planning application is to put up the poles and wire along the route to create the eruv.”

The application follows a two-year period of engagement with the community including meetings with the council, a pre-application report, letters to all homeowners whose homes are close to the eruv route, a public meeting attended by people from the local community, the setting up of a website and a series of ecology, heritage, tree, traffic and environmental reports.

There are currently 10 eruv schemes in the UK and two of these are in Manchester, located in Salford and Whitefield.

The proposed route map runs from the junction of Oakfield Road and Moss Lane in Altrincham; eastwards towards the junction of Canterbury Road and Clay Lane in Timperley; then southwards to Hale Street (Marriott Hotel) Hale Barns; then westwards to Bankhall Lane in Hale (near to Ashley Road junction); and northwards to Oakfield Road and Moss Lane.

The trust will submit the application to Trafford Council and the council will then announce the timescales for the planning hearing. As part of this process people will be able to submit their views. For further information people can visit the website: www.haleeruv.org or call the freephone helpline number 0800 130 3353 during normal office hours.