25th June 2026
https://blog.cromptonthedog.com/category/padden-brook
Vicki Bates, Stockport Council Monitoring Officer
Emma Curle, Planning Supremo
Lisa McGrane, Planning Enforcement
Dominic Harvey, Planning Officer
Michael Cullen, Chief Executive
Lisa Smart, LibDem MP
Mark Roberts, LibDem Leader
LibDem Councillor Rachel Bresnahan
LibDem Councillor Angela Clark
Email sent: Thu 18/06/2026 12:40
Dear Head of Planning, Monitoring Officer, Chief Executive, Leader of the Council, and Planning Enforcement Team,
I am writing to raise urgent concerns regarding the recent disturbance of protected land at Padden Brook.
It appears that the site has been subject to unauthorised and extensive ground disturbance, including bulldozing and vegetation clearance. Given the protected status of the land and its known history, I am extremely concerned that these activities may have disturbed potentially contaminated material within the site.
I have today informed the landowner that the land is highly likely to be contaminated and that any excavation, digging, strimming, earthmoving or similar activities could result in the release of contaminants into the environment. If contaminated soils or waste materials have been disturbed, there is a significant possibility that airborne dust and contaminants have been released beyond the site boundary, potentially exposing nearby residents and visitors to risks that should have been prevented through appropriate controls and regulatory oversight.
In light of these concerns, I request that the Council urgently:
- Investigate the legality of the works undertaken on the site.
- Determine whether contaminated land has been disturbed.
- Assess whether airborne contaminants may have been released as a result of the activities undertaken.
- Consider the need for immediate enforcement action to prevent any further excavation, digging, strimming, vegetation clearance or other ground-disturbing activities until the contamination risks have been properly assessed.
- Confirm what steps are being taken to protect local residents from any ongoing risk.
Should it transpire that contamination has been disturbed and residents have been exposed as a result of failures to intervene or enforce appropriate controls, it is foreseeable that claims may arise against those responsible. The Council should therefore carefully consider its position, including any potential implications for its insurers.
Given the potential risks to public health and the environment, I would be grateful for an urgent response setting out the actions the Council intends to take.
Yours faithfully,
Sheila Oliver
Sadly the senior council officers, planners, enforcement officers, Local MP, local councillors are not working for us. I wonder who they are working for, I really do.
Jeepers, the chemicals involved in Hat manufacture alone (inc. Mercuric Nitrate, Nitric Acid, Lead Acetate, Sulfuric Acid and Arsenic Compounds) are enough to send chills through any of us who are unfortunate enough to live here through this.