Cheshire East has deferred an application for a 405-home scheme in Middlewich and asked the developer to replace the smaller three-bedroom properties with two-bed houses.
Outline approval for the development at Glebe Farm, Booth Lane, Moston, was granted in February 2018 – although councillors were told the scheme had first been submitted for consideration nine years ago but it had been delayed because of a wrangle over S106 contributions.
The strategic planning board yesterday (March 9) was considering the reserved matters application from Taylor Wimpey, which deals with the appearance, landscaping, layout and scale of the scheme.
Several councillors were unhappy the outline planning approval had been granted by the previous strategic planning board with all S106 money – £4.7m – going towards the Middlewich Bypass, apart from a small sum towards the Sutton Lane Playing Fields.
They said this meant their ‘hands were tied’ when it came to asking for additional funding for health or education.
Ward councillor Jonathan Parry, speaking as a visiting councillor, said Middlewich needed more doctors, dentists and services and ‘if there was an opportunity for the developer to have another look at the ways of extending the retail development within this site in order to provide an infrastructure for such services, please do so’.
The Middlewich councillor also stressed there was a need for two-bedroom homes in the town.
He added: “I would want to be able to reassure our residents, this development will not impact in a bad way on their daily lives, either now or in the future; that the contractors give a categoric assurance Warmingham Lane will play no part whatsoever in providing access to the building site and the residents of Booth Lane and the surrounding roads will not be inconvenienced by the development.”
Brian O’Conner, representing the applicant, said the scheme will deliver a wide mix of new market and affordable housing in a sustainable location.
He said there was only 10 per cent affordable homes because that had been agreed at the outline stage because of the substantial contribution being made to the Middlewich Bypass.
Councillor Nick Mannion was unhappy with the outline approval granted by the previous planning board in 2018.
He said everything had gone into building a road which hasn’t yet been built.
“I’m struggling to support this application because it just doesn’t do anything for Middlewich,” he said.
Committee chair Stewart Gardiner said: “We cannot put the genie back in the bottle.”
But he said the housing mix could be reconsidered and, even though prospective buyers could use the box room in the small three-bed properties as an office, ‘they will be asked to pay for them as if they were three-bedroom properties’.
He later proposed the application be deferred for Tayor Wimpey to look at replacing the smaller three-bedroom houses with two-bedroom homes.
Cllr Mannion also asked for clarification and assurance about the drainage of the site and for a flood risk officer to attend the next meeting.
The board voted unanimously to defer the application.
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