On 13th October 2021, our Secretary, Anna Chopping, stepped right out of her comfort zone to present our petition against the Council constructing roads across Carrington Moss. We have set out her presentation in this blog, along with a link to the short debate held by Trafford Council.

Anna Chopping:

“I’d like to begin by explaining that I am actually going to be reading my five minute presentation because I am here, not for my skills or natural talent for public speaking I’m afraid, but as a Mum of three, as the Secretary for the Friends of Carrington Moss, and as a resident of Carrington Village

I am here to speak on behalf of many other residents and families who have signed this petition (1,632 in fact). We are local people, and these signatures represent a community that is feeling voiceless and overwhelmed by this tidal wave of development in our area; it’s challenging just keeping up with the sheer number of planning applications, and it feels hard to be heard above the noise and scale of development – so I thank you firstly for this opportunity to present our petition today.

I would like to draw your attention to three main points that we are asking for your understanding and consideration in the debate;

1. We are asking for more consultation,

2. We are asking for genuine alternative options to the building of roads across Carrington Moss, and

3. We are asking for more consideration of the environmental impact of this road proposal in the wake of our climate emergency

So firstly, we are asking for a seat at the table, we actually want involvement in the design stage of plans for our locality. Local people feel powerless, fearful, and angry that planning and development feels to be carried out DESPITE rather than FOR community members.

Thus far, there has been no consultation with the community regarding the strategic agenda for the Carrington Relief Road. Our village is desperately seeking a STOP to the huge number of HGVs on the road through our village, but this proposal for the CRR does not promise to deliver any benefits or ‘relief’ to residents suffering with this daily hammering of HGVs on their houses and stress levels. The Scheme Objectives for this road are not about prioritising the improvement of health, wellbeing or basic safety of local residents and even schoolchildren who will be impacted… the key objective is about increasing capacity to deliver growth – more construction, more industrial warehousing, more housing and crucially – MORE traffic; including induced traffic.

So, what about alternative options?

There appears to be no discussion or prospect of any tram connections, no option or prospect of any train connections with New Carrington or Partington – even when there are existing tracks in place?!  How are we to be making safer more sustainable transport choices that allow us to get out of our cars, when the focus is entirely on building more roads, with no actual commitment to improving public transport.

We want more cost-effective, safer, alternative solutions that work for everybody, not this ‘quick-fix’ ‘panic-built’ approach driven by developers. We understand that there is time-limited external funding for the road which is at risk if the scheme is not pushed through to planning now – but this ‘rushed-job’ could end up costing far more in permanent damage… to irreplaceable habitats, to the red-listed birds, endangered wildlife, and to the carbon-capturing scope of Carrington Moss.

The Friends of Carrington Moss have always driven a positive campaign – one that is fuelled by a heartfelt desire to value, protect and, where possible, improve our shared landscape and green space of Carrington Moss, our green-lung.

We are NOT ANTI-DEVELOPMENT, on the contrary; we are passionate about engendering progressive change; we want to regenerate as well as protect these natural assets of Carrington Moss’ – we want to CONSERVE not concrete-over the value of what is on our doorstep.

Our local environment is valued not only by our local community, but also by professional organisations such as the CPRE, Natural England and the Cheshire and Lancashire Wildlife Trusts – and their reviews of the PfE proposals for Carrington are damning. Please read them.

In conclusion we ask you to please allow us a seat at the table, allow us to be involved in shaping and improving our locality by finding alternative options to these proposed roads across our greenbelt.

After all, where else in Trafford can we

• restore peat to more effectively capture carbon, so our children and grandchildren can breathe cleaner air?
• grow crops and alleviate surface water risks, so our descendants have fresh food, with a low carbon footprint, and residents are not fearful of flooding every time it rains?
• increase the populations of red listed birds and endangered wildlife, so we can help nature’s recovery, increase biodiversity and mitigate the impact of climate change?

Thank you.“

You can hear the responses of the Councillors here (fast forward to 13 minutes 55 seconds).