Cheshire East to approve 400 Crewe houses

A scheme by the Fairfield Partnership to deliver 400 houses in Leighton, Crewe, is set for approval when Cheshire East’s planning committee meets on 25 January.

The officers’ report ahead of the committee meeting recommends that the head of planning sign-off the scheme.

Although there was previously a presumption against approving development on the site due to its position in open countryside, the plot is now proposed as part of an allocation of around 500 dwellings earmarked for Leighton, under changes made to the Local Plan last year.

The site, off Flowers Lane, consists of a series of fields used for pasture and is bounded to the south by phase two of Bloor Homes’ Parkers Road development.

Much of the existing hedges and trees surrounding the site are to be retained, and a new roundabout added to reduce traffic impact.

The Section 106 requirements attached to the project could include contributions to the roundabout, the North West Crewe Highway Improvement package and the Leighton Hospital cycle link.

In the report, Cheshire East planning officers state state that the scheme would meet the acknowledged shortfall in market and affordable housing and would not result in the loss of quality agricultural land. In order to meet the council’s policy the affordable element would need to be 120 homes if all 400 houses are built.

The Fairfield Partnership is majority-owned by the Carlyle Group.