On 2 February 2026, Macclesfield Town Council in Cheshire voted in favour of a motion formally opposing the government’s proposal for a new town at Adlington. The plan would see up to 14,000–20,000 new homes built on Green Belt and greenfield land — roughly 970 hectares (about 2,400 acres) — a development scale similar to Macclesfield itself.
Local leaders and residents say the project would cause irreversible damage to green spaces and put significant pressure on local roads, schools and GP services. Tim Roca, the Macclesfield MP, presented a petition of nearly 19,000 signatures to Parliament on 17 December 2025 urging the government to abandon the proposal.
The developer, Belport (promoted as Belport Adlington Limited), says the scheme would deliver substantial affordable housing and improvements to local assets — including a proposal for up to 40% affordable homes and plans to reopen Adlington Hall and its gardens to the public. Community groups such as Save Adlington argue the scale of development would effectively erase the buffer between towns, risk merging the Macclesfield area with the Greater Manchester conurbation, and destroy the area’s rural character.
This vote adds to a growing list of local authorities and parish councils opposing the plans, including Cheshire East Council, which unanimously objected in December 2025. A final decision from the Secretary of State on whether to allocate the site for a New Town is expected in spring/early summer 2026 (May–June 2026).
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