Cheshire East kicks can down the road in Nantwich and Knutsford

Both Nightingale Land and Bruntwood had hoped to establish outline residential consents, but members took around four hours to defer decisions on the pair of proposals. Muse fared better with a tweak on its industrial scheme at Basford East.

Cheshire East’s strategic planning board met on Wednesday 25 March, its last but one meeting before May’s local elections.

Housing off Broad Lane, Nantwich – 25/2977/OUT

Nightingale – the land promoter set up by David Gladman – wants to secure outline permission for a 75-home plot off Broad Lane on the edge of Nantwich, a plot sitting in an area where various larger schemes are coming forward, not least Muller’s 400-home plus plan at Maylands Park.

A verdict had already been deferred from February’s strategic planning board meeting, where members raised concerns over access and highways issues, the crucial issue being the combined weight of different proposals in the area impacting an already busy area – Broad Lane and Audlem Road not being major highways.

Nightingale’s plan has now been deferred twice. Credit: planning documents

Officers stressed that the application should be judged on its own merits, and that the impact of the larger schemes will be addressed when they themselves reach committee.

This was reiterated at this week’s meeting, with the warning that the applicant cannot be compelled to provide any more information on highways, and that an appeal on grounds of non-determination is a distinct possibility.

Regardless, officers failed to sway enough members to the position that additions to highways infrastructure will follow with the subsequent, larger applications.

After a motion for approval proposed by Cllr Steven Edgar was narrowly defeated, a second motion, for another deferment, was put forward by Cllr Stewart Gardiner, perhaps the proposal’s most vocal critic on the board – Cllr Gardiner had also registered concerns over the minutes from the previous meeting regarding requests for more information on the application.

This motion secured enough support for the meeting to move onto the next item, and for the bid team to consider its next move.

Housing at Booths Park, Knutsford – 25/1468/OUT

Bruntwood is looking to advance housing at Booths Park, where it operates a business park, Initially, the plans were recommended for refusal, but following late representations, it was decided that officers were able to recommend approval.

Why had refusal been recommended? The land is not Green Belt, is safeguarded and thus regarded as suitable for development, while the council cannot demonstrate a five-year housing supply. Cheshire East also needs more affordable homes.

Concerns were raised though by the council’s forestry, landscape, green spaces and heritage officers with regard to scale – namely that 160 homes might be too great a volume not to impact severely on a sensitive site, which accommodates parkland trees, open space and has the recently listed Booths Hall’s setting to protect.

With the total of 160 homes the sticking point, Bruntwood MTL’s project team withdrew that number from the application text, also removing its land use plan. This led officers to change the recommendation to approve.

However, the lateness of additional information raised the ire of some members, with one councillor pointing out that he had only received the updated paper the previous evening, amid a Knutsford Town Council meeting. More time should be given to review new information, he said.

The other concern was, in a sense, caused by the removal of the upper limit on housing numbers. No alternative top number had been put forward by any party, and members were sceptical about giving a green light.

Cllr Fiona Wilson said “I don’t know how many houses we’re voting on here, and we need to have that information. I’m not opposed to development here, but we can’t hand developers a blank cheque.”

Representing Bruntwood – which would likely seek a partner to develop housing in this setting much as it did at Alderley Park – planning advisor Gary Halman had described the scheme as having the ability “to make a valuable contribution” to the area, adding that the proposals have been with the council for almost a year, going through painstaking scrutiny and with amendments being made.

The benefits, he said, include 30% affordable homes, a biodiversity net gain contribution well in excess of the requirement, restoration and management of trees and planting, a network of paths, and a contribution to a bus route.

He added: “This is the best site in Cheshire East by a country mile, it deserves something special, and that ambition is shared by Bruntwood – they’re not a landowner looking to walk away but as the owner of Booths Park a neighbour, and they want to see a beautiful development as much as anyone.”

Along with Gary Halman Land & Planning, the project team includes Calderpeel and Planit.

A representative of Knutsford Rugby Club also spoke in support, outlining potential future community benefits. The committee – which also booted out two applications regarding equestrian uses in a session that stretched out over around five hours of debate in total – was not markedly hostile to the plans, but the application team will have to take a second run.

Adding to logistics capacity at Basford East – 25/3772/VOC

Developer Muse sought, and won, permission on a variation of conditions application that will allow it to expand the volume of logistics space within the overall development consented at Basford East, part of the scheme billed as WestOn M6.

A hybrid consent was secured in 2024 for 1.3m sq ft of development, and work started last year on the fully consented first phase. Going before committee yesterday was an application that will allow the whole scheme to be let to logistics-led uses, should that be where demand lies, rather than a top limit of 786,000 sq ft. The meeting was assured that the overall development will not be enlarged.

By the standards of this meeting, the matter was wrapped up quickly, with members voting to allow the change.