Plans for a 28-home development on a field at Audlem have been recommended for refusal, writes Belinda Ryan.
Tabley Homes and Renew Land want to build the homes in the open countryside on land to the east of Audlem Road.
A scheme for 20 homes on the same site was refused by Cheshire East Council and later dismissed at appeal in 2017, due to demonstrable harm to the countryside and the failure of the proposal to secure affordable housing.
This latest application for a 28-home development of two, three, four and five-bedroom properties, includes nine affordable and will be considered by Cheshire East’s southern planning committee next Wednesday (August 31) .
In a report due to go before that meeting, the Cheshire East planning officer states: “The proposed development would not fall within any of the categories of exception to the restrictive policy relating to development within the open countryside.
“As a result, it constitutes a ‘departure’ from the development plan and there is a presumption against the proposal.”
The council’s housing officer has objected to the proposal as the site is above the threshold criteria of 10 units to constitute a rural exception site.
Ansa has also objected on the grounds of an insufficient amount of open space provision.
Audlem Parish Council is opposed to the development and 28 letters of objection have been sent to Cheshire East from local residents.
The council’s planning officer says the benefits of the proposal would be the provision of open market and affordable housing and the limited economic positives during construction.
He says the development will not have a detrimental impact upon residential amenity and the impact upon infrastructure would be neutral as there have been no requests for contributions for health or education.
The officer states the inclusion of nine affordable homes complies with policy but adds “the weight to be given to the benefit of affordable provision is more limited in this instance, noting that the council is meeting and exceeding its affordable housing targets”.
He adds: “In conclusion, the benefits of the scheme to provide affordable housing and the limited economic benefits would not outweigh the harm to the open countryside, the lack of open space, the unacceptable design of the proposed development and lack of information to consider ecological impacts.”
The application is recommended for refusal on the grounds the site is in the open countryside and outside of the Audlem settlement boundary; insufficient information has been provided in which to assess the full ecological impacts of the development; and the design and layout of the proposed development is considered to be poor.
The southern planning meeting takes place at Crewe Municipal Buildings at 10am on Wednesday, August 31.
(Pic courtesy of Google Maps)
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