Cheshire East cues up 300 homes

Projects in Macclesfield and Crewe and at Congleton’s Viking Way are tipped for approval next week.

Cheshire East Council’s strategic planning board meets on 26 October with approval recommended for three schemes comprising a combined 300 homes.

In the largest, Bloor Homes is seeking reserved matters consent for 154 homes, making up the first phase of development at Viking Way.

By prior agreement due to the site being a contributor to the Congleton Link Road, 17.5% of the homes on site will be affordable, meaning 27 homes.

There will be 20 two-bedroom homes, 74 three-bedroom homes and 60 four-bedroom homes. The development includes a central landscaped corridor and an equipped play area.

Outline approval was given as part of a larger consent at Viking Way. Bloor is working with a professional team spearheaded by Asteer Planning and eScape Urbanists.

The reserved matters application’s reference number is 22/0670C.

On a site to the south of Macclesfield, Morris Homes and the Trustees of the Lyme Green Settlement are seeking full consent for 42 homes at a site west of London Road and south of Gaw End Lane, Lyme Green.

Consideration of the scheme was deferred at July’s SPB meeting, with more information required to quell fears in areas including overdevelopment, housing mix, pepper-potting social housing and flood risk.

Although the housing numbers have not changed, some housing types suggested have, while officers point out that the density is well within the guidelines for such a site. Thirteen homes are proposed as affordable.

The site was excluded from a 310-home development being undertaken by Bovis on neighbouring plots. It is allocated for housing in the local plan.

Sutton Parish Council has objected, while letters opposing the scheme have come from 30 addresses over two periods of consultation.

Approval is recommended, with conditions including a £98,000 contribution to secondary education.

The applicants are working with APD and planner Savills. The planning reference number is 21/1249M.

In Crewe, Breck Homes and Mark Unwin propose a wholly affordable 104-home development north of Bidvale Way and east of Broughton Road.

Mosaic Town Planning is advising on the application.

The site takes up the southern portion of a site where the northern chunk already has permission for 129 homes. Currently, the site is taken up by unmanaged agricultural land.

The development includes a mix of one- to four-bedroom homes, including apartments, maisonettes semi-detached and terraced houses.

The maximum height of the proposed house types will be two-storey while an apartment building located adjacent to the northern site boundary accommodating 12 flats will be three storeys.

Crewe Town Council is an objector, on the grounds that the proposal does not provide for any sustainable energy generation, that there is no net biodiversity gain and that the play area as put forward is inadequate.

Although the site is allocated for housing in the local plan, the overall site is mapped out as accommodating up to 175 homes – this part, plus the consented 129 homes, adds up to 233 homes, a significantly higher volume.

However, as the officer’s report details: “When assessed on its merits, it is considered the application site can satisfactorily accommodate the proposed development in terms of its of siting and design and without adversely affecting the character of the area, amenity, or highway safety/traffic congestion.

“Importantly the delivery of the site for residential development will also contribute towards the Council’s housing land supply, provide 100% affordable housing, and thereby assist in meeting the development requirements of Crewe and the wider Borough. It is considered that the development of this site is acceptable in principle.”

The application number is 21/6385N.