PLANNING chiefs have backed the latest phase of a massive new housing estate in Daresbury, despite one raising fears over what he called ‘middle class ghettos'.

At a meeting held last night, Halton Council’s development management committee agreed to delegate authority to council officers, the committee chair and vice chair to rubber-stamp plans by Redrow for 151 houses at Crows Nest Farm off Delph Lane.

It is part of the wider Daresbury Garden Village scheme which includes almost 1,100 properties, with the new phase of the estate consisting of three, four and five bedroom houses.

But the project has proven controversial after Redrow revealed none of the new properties would be termed as ‘affordable’.

Local planning policy requires all residential schemes of 10 dwellings or more to provide 20 per cent affordable housing provision, but no affordable homes have been earmarked as part of the new scheme. Redrow said to do so would make its scheme financially unviable due to the investment it would have to make the site accessible to the local highway network.

Weaver Vale MP Mike Amesbury had objected to the plans on these grounds and at the meeting of the committee held at Runcorn Town Hall last night, Cllr John Abbott also hit out at the move.

He told the committee: “What we’re at risk of doing is creating middle class ghettos where no poor people can live, but they can walk on a footpath and have a look around.

“If the idea of housing is of having sustainable, mixed communities then this is very, very concerning.”

Redrow said it has provided £8.5m to the council to pay for infrastructure improvements and that this also included money to go towards affordable housing elsewhere in the borough.

At the meeting, members were told that the committee had previously already agreed to a hybrid planning application covering the site which included it having no affordable housing, and that they would have no grounds to go back now and demand changes. They were also advised that if it were to go to a planning appeal the council would probably lose.

The committee agreed to delegate authority to planning officers to approve the final scheme pending the resolution of some minor planning issues, but after concerns were raised by Cllr Alan Lowe, it was agreed this would be done under the oversight of the planning committee’s chair and vice chair.