Care home and cop shop set for Cheshire East approval
Muller Property Group’s latest proposal at Nantwich’s Maylands Park is expected to secure the go-ahead next week, along with a deployment base to replace the Crewe town centre police station.
Cheshire East Council’s strategic property board meets on Wednesday 23 July, and will consider just these two items.
Muller’s Maylands momentum
The Maylands Park application follows consent for two other phases in May: a 49-home retirement village in partnership with McCarthy Stone, and a 40-home housing scheme with Anwyl Homes.
Maylands Park enjoys a broad outline consent, established at appeal in 2020, and this application also comes in outline form, seeking to establish permission for a care facility off Peter de Stapleigh Way, Stapeley.
Muller seeks approval for a three-storey, 80-bed care home, including public open space, access and associated infrastructures. The outline application seeks approval for access, layout, appearance and appearance, with only landscaping reserved for future approval.
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Against the project is the argument that it lies within “open countryside” beyond the Nantwich settlement boundary – however, the council is unable to demonstrate a five-year supply of housing at present, and this would go some way to helping address that, the need for increased senior living generally being particularly acute.
The titled balance brought in when the market is under-supplied would recommend approval unless schemes are likely to have a particularly egregious impact. This does not apply here, with officers referencing the overall good design, and the fact other development is already taking place on neighbouring plots.
Advisers include planner Asteer, Ecus, Arbtech, Lees Roxburgh Consulting Engineers, and Bower Mattin.
Project planning reference: 24/4228/OUT
Corstorphine & Wright is the architect for the police deployment base. Credit: planning documents
New for Crewe
Cheshire Constabulary has put forward plans to replace its outdated Crewe police station – 60 years old, and afflicted by asbestos and RAAC – with a new facility.
The site put forward for Crewe’s new police station sits within the Basford East strategic allocation under Cheshire East’s local plan. This allocation includes up to 850 homes, offices, and a local centre.
This specific site amounts to 2.8 acres of previously undeveloped greenfield land, between the A5020 David Whitby Way and Mill Farm Drive.
Summing up the scheme for committee members, council officers said that the proposed “deployment base” is essentially an office-based use, and although it will have the additional function of providing a frontline response, the proposal accords with the local plan’s objectives.
Weighted against the plan are siting and design concerns, said officers, who said “it is disappointing that the direct line of the proposed east-west active travel route is disrupted”.
In addition, security requirements and the large expanses of parking space needed mean there is little scope for landscaping.
However, officers said that these issues need to be balanced against the benefits of the project, including modern development in a base that will allow the deployment of officers across the whole of the local policing area with better access to the road network than the current base, resulting in an improved police service for all.
Although this will be a ‘blue light’ base, disruption to residents should be minimal, officers said. In recommending approval, officers said that landscaping and drainage on the service strip along the site’s frontage on Mill Farm Drive are of particular importance.
Corstorphine & Wright is the project architect. And Plan Red the planning advisor. Flinders Chase and Tier Consult are also on the professional team.
Project planning reference: 25/1373/FUL
