Stockport Council has approved plans for a second eruv in the Greater Manchester area.

The proposals allow for 32 poles sited around an approximate 2.4 square mile area in the Cheadle and Gatley region of southern Manchester. The religious boundary will incorporate pre-existing borders such as fences and walls.

According to planning documents prepared by the Cheadle and Gatley Eruv Committee – comprised of Yeshurun Hebrew Congregation members – 1,400 Jews live in the area (accounting for around 5 per cent of the population).

Committee spokesman Neil Sugarman described Cheadle and Gatley as a “modern Orthodox community” and said the scheme would benefit both the youngest and oldest members by allowing the use of pushchairs and mobility aids. It would make the area “much more socially inclusive”.

Mr Sugarman could not give a timescale for the eruv going live. Planning approval had already been delayed by six months due to the Covid crisis. The pandemic would also have a knock-on effect on the construction of the poles.

Stockport’s planning committee approved the application by nine votes to two, with one abstention.

Councillor Wendy Meikle had voiced concern that the eruv would be “divisive, increase antisemitism and offend other religious groups”.

She was “uncomfortable” with the notion, viewing it as “like a demarcation of a territory”. But she conceded: “I don’t know enough about it.”

Mr Sugarman preferred to focus on the “widespread support” among the council.

The new eruv will not connect with another north of the city – the UK’s largest with a perimeter of 13 miles.