Cheshire East debates Wychwood housing

A £1.6m watersports and outdoor activity centre is back on the table at Cheshire East’s planning meeting next week, while the council also continues to fight off a proposal for 900 homes at Wychwood Village.

Cheshire Lakes Community Interest Company’s plans for the use of two lakes at a 55-acre former quarry in Chelford have already been through a convoluted application process. The proposals were recommended for refusal due to biodiversity issues at a committee meeting in July, despite backing from the council’s rural investment team. The decision for the project was due to be delayed, however on the 24 July the scheme was on the agenda in error and was rejected.

Due to the error the refusal was quashed, and the proposals are due to be considered again on 24 August. While they are recommended for refusal, the team behind the scheme, including planning advisor Walsingham Planning, are optimistic that the ecology position is “as positive as possible”.

A decision is due to be made on the 900-home extension of Wychwood Village at the former Gorstyhill Golf Club, which was first proposed by Haddon Developments at the end of 2014. A ruling on the project was delayed while a decision was made on whether to include the site in Cheshire East’s emerging Local Plan. When this was refused, the applicant appealed to the Secretary of State to bypass the council.

The council’s judgment at the meeting next week will be used in its submission to the Secretary of State.

There has been strong local opposition to the plans, which were developed following Haddon’s director Peter Hunt’s acquisition of the former De Vere golf course in 2011. Wychwood Village totals around 350 homes, with residents resisting it as an inappropriately large increase in housing in the area.

Meanwhile at Jodrell Bank Observatory, a 30,000 sq ft office has been recommended for approval. The extension to a current building would provide more space for research group the Square Kilometer Army, which has been based at the telescope site since 2012.