AN appeal has been lodged against Cheshire East Council’s decision to refuse the Plymouth Brethren Church permission to make use of the former Mobberley Riding School.

Plans to demolish the former school and build a new church hall on the site were rejected by the council in February on the grounds of inappropriate and unsustainable greenbelt development, with parking for up to 140 cars having been proposed.

An 11th-hour appeal was lodged with the planning inspectorate and, with public comments accepted until November 3, protesters against the church are fundraising to help formulate a professional response.

The church’s appeal case reads: “It is clear that there are no reasonable grounds to justify refusal of the application on any of the three reasons for refusal.

“The scheme does not constitute inappropriate development in the Green Belt; it constitutes sustainable development; and it will have no detrimental impact on the visual amenity and character of the rural area.

“Furthermore it is important to note that no objections were raised by any of the statutory consultees during the application process and the proposal makes effective use of land by reusing land that has been previously developed.

“The council was wrong to have refused planning permission for the proposed development.”

The Brethren's meeting schedule outlines up to eight hours of worship a week, including an hour on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

One Friday per month would see an evening worship, with worship on three Saturday mornings a month. 

There would be early morning and evening worship each Sunday, with late morning worship on alternating Sundays.

There are currently 325 members in the Manchester congregation and 189 members in the Crewe congregation.

An appealing on JustGiving to raise £1,200 for a ‘professional response’, said: “The site cannot be accessed by train or bus so everyone must arrive by car.

“The Plymouth Brethren Church holds services several times a day – up to five on a Saturday alone – and the congregation arrive in huge numbers from Manchester, Crewe, Stockport and further.

“This will affect the neighbouring villages and towns as well as Mobberley village itself as the country roads are narrow and cannot accommodate that volume of traffic at the same time.

“Any parking on the country road will reduce it to a single track meaning no cars can pass and will cause travel chaos."

The planning inspectorate documents can be seen by searching for ‘Mobberley’ on acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk