I am very pleased to have the opportunity to present a petition on behalf of my constituents—based mainly in Tarporley—following the collection of signatures by a sincere and unselfish, but concerned, community action group. It has managed to gather in a very short space of time many hundreds of signatures, and it has my full support in objecting to the resubmission of an application for a so-called continuing care community development in the Tarporley area. It is through petitions that Members have the opportunity to stand up for both proportionality and balance in our communities. While planning is not a matter of immediate relevance to this House, it is vital that we state any objections on the public record through petitions.

The petition states:

The Petition of residents of Tarporley and surrounding areas,

Declares that Vale Royal Borough Council should reject the planning application reference 08-2866-FUM for the development of a continuing care community on land adjacent to Heatherways, Tarporley, due to the negative impact on the village and its amenities that such a development would cause.

The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to indicate to Vale Royal Borough Council that this application is not substantially different from the previous application 08-0779-FUM and so must therefore be opposed by Vale Royal Borough Council for the same reasons; and instruct Vale Royal Borough Council to place on public record that due to the negative impact on the village and its amenities such a development would cause, the proposed site is confirmed as unsuitable for such a development in the future.

And the Petitioners remain, etc.

[P000328]