CHESTER MP Stephen Mosley is backing a new group against development on green belt land.

Friends of North Chester Greenbelt’s current focus is to oppose Bell Developments’ plan to build a 2,300-bed student village and Steve Redgrave sports facility on fields at the Mollington-Blacon border.

Among those involved are Parkgate Highfield Residents Group and the Campaign to Protect Rural England with support from the city’s Tory MP.

Spokesman Andy Scargill said: “What people must be reminded of is the case for a student village on this site was destroyed once Cheshire West and Chester Council’s independent report on student accommodation from Nevin Leather Associates was published.

“This came down firmly against a large out of town development and recommended instead smaller developments nearer to the university campuses.”

And the group fears once the principle of development has been established at the green belt site the consent could be used as ‘Trojan horse’ to build private houses instead.

Bell Developments spokesman Stephen Wundke responded: “The Nevin Leather report was subsequently superseded by the Browne Report in to universities and the granting to the university of a further 300 places in 2012 and the Jones Lang Lasalle report, published in August 2012, that highlighted the need to provide 2,300 accommodation places over the next 3 years. That is unequivocal.”

Refuting the suggestion there is a secret proposal to ‘add housing to this development’, he added: “The Chester student village is a project proposed by a local company for the benefit of the local community to solve a local crisis, that being the chronic shortage of student accommodation.

“The added bonus is that by building this we will be able to provide an outstanding sporting facility for the benefit of all people within the borough.”