Bloor’s plans for 200 Green Belt homes rejected
Cheshire East Council did not buy into the housebuilder’s argument that the 40-acre plot north of Prestbury Road in Macclesfield should be considered grey belt and subsequently refused the application – despite council officers recommending it for approval.
The vote to dismiss Bloor Homes’ outline plans for 200 houses came after two hours of discussion during last week’s strategic planning board meeting.
All but two councillors voted for the rejection under the grounds that the project represented inappropriate development on Green Belt and that its benefits did not outweigh the harm it would do. They argued that the project would also harm the Bollin Valley local landscape designation.
Regarding the decision, a spokesperson for Bloor Homes said: “We are disappointed that the Prestbury Road application has not been approved. Bloor Homes remains committed to delivering high-quality, sustainable homes in Macclesfield, including a significant number of affordable properties.
“We will carefully review the council’s decision and consider next steps.”
Had the project been approved, it would have provided 90 affordable homes and 110 market properties. They would have had between one and four bedrooms. More than half of the site – 20.5 acres – would have been set aside for public open space as well.
Planning agent Turley had argued that the site, while technically Green Belt, should be considered grey belt.
Cheshire East planning officers had agreed, stating that the site did not strongly contribute to the Green Belt missions of checking unrestricted urban sprawl, preventing the merging of neighbouring towns, or preserving the special character of a historic town.
Officers had also acknowledged in their report that Cheshire East would be required to release sites outside of settlement boundaries for housing in order to meet its housing land requirement.
In addition to Turley, the project team for the application included Aval Consulting Group, i-Transport, UES, NDC, Coopers, and TRC. You can read the application documents by searching 25/0210/OUT on Cheshire East Council’s planning portal.
