Coppice Road, Higher Poynton
The control case. Same Connectivity Tool score as Copthorne, opposite result, because the walk was continuous, lit and on a 30 mph road. This is what a passing route looks like.
- Appeal reference
- APP/R0660/W/26/6010471
- Decided
- 21 September 2026, written representations
- Authority
- Cheshire East Council
- Proposal
- Permission in principle for 1 to 7 dwellings
- Housing land supply
- No five-year supply, undisputed
- Framework
- August 2026
What the inspector found on foot
The walk
More than a mile to the shops, and it still passed, because of what the route is made of.
The site is also connected to Poynton, which provides a wide range of services and amenities, by a continuous lit footway along a road subject to a 30mph speed limit. Whilst the nearest shops are just over one mile away and the route includes a modest incline; it nevertheless provides a safe and attractive opportunity for walking and cyclingDecision letter ¶18
The tool
The first appeal decision recorded using the Connectivity Tool, and it corroborated rather than decided.
This is further demonstrated by the use of the Connectivity Tool as recommended within Policy TR3(2) of the Framework … the resulting overall score is 52 which, for a rural town and fringe location, is above averageDecision letter ¶20
What else was weighed
The buses. “Regular daytime and early evening services” (¶19), reduced on Sundays, connecting to Poynton rail station and Stockport bus station. Evidenced, not asserted.
Grey belt. Higher Poynton is a village, so not a large built-up area: “the site cannot reasonably be regarded as being adjacent to, or near to, a large built-up area” (¶13). Grey belt is judged on the site, not the wider assessment parcel (¶15).
What follows from passing. “There is no place for a subsequent assessment of the effect … on the openness” (¶23). Once GB7 is met the scheme is not inappropriate, no very special circumstances are needed, and the S5(5) balance leans to approval.
Local policy. Green Belt policies without a grey belt exception were held inconsistent with the Framework and given very limited weight (¶9, ¶35).
The point the case turned on
The quality of the walking route and evidence for the buses. Distance was greater than at Copthorne and the tool score identical, but the footway was continuous, lit and beside slower traffic the whole way.
Read the inspector's full decision: appeal 6010471 (PDF). Official record on the Planning Inspectorate service: appeal-planning-decision.service.gov.uk. Paragraph numbers above are those of the decision letter.
Summarised for application 26/01470/FUL, Land North of Station Road, Claverdon. Quotations are verbatim from the decision letter; the surrounding description is a summary. Back to the route survey.
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