NEW housing development in the borough is 'careering out of control' according to South Cheshire's Friends of the Earth.

Now the group has devised a ten point plan for the future which it is urging local planners to support.

"We are at a critical point now as developers are seeking to cram in as many new housing applications as possible to fill up the housing allocation left over from the present Local Plan. Plus they are taking advantage of the holiday season to evade objections," said spokesman Jonathan Tilt.

"We are sitting on a housing time bomb. Our council asked for 13 per cent more new housing than the county originally suggested for the next Structure Plan," he added.

"Public consultation about where this next batch of 7,600 new homes is going to be built should be under way soon. It is time for people to speak up and be heard."

The Friends' ten points include focusing development on 'brown' rather than 'green' field areas, traffic reduction, environmentally friendly schemes and small scale development with mixed house types.

"We are not anti-housing. But the present policy does not reflect the real needs of the people of South Cheshire and is wrecking the countryside. It is development by greed, not by need, and people do not want it," Mr Tilt said.

The group is calling on people to lobby their local councillors and the council planning department.

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