Countryside made to wait for end to Crewe planning saga 

After nearly four hours of deliberation, Cheshire East Council this week decided to defer a decision on whether to grant retrospective permission for the developer’s completed 263-home Coppenhall Place scheme after further site investigations raised concerns. 

The council had been due to approve the scheme, which does not currently have a valid planning consent, and put an end to a long-running saga earlier this week.  

A report to the council’s strategic planning board published prior to the meeting said environmental protection officers were now “satisfied that the site is suitable for a residential end-use”. 

However, further investigations earlier this week found building materials in some soil samples, prompting concerns about the site’s suitability for residential. 

As a result, the council opted to defer a decision. 

Countryside Partnerships was granted planning permission in 2018 for Coppenhall Place in Crewe. The project was subsequently built and the homes, a mix of private rented properties and houses for market sale, are occupied.  

However, it was determined last year that the developer had not satisfied a planning condition relating to land contamination, rendering the original approval void.  

This sparked concerns among homeowners that, without a valid planning consent, the developer might be asked to tear the scheme down.  

While this seems extreme, it is not without precedent. Earlier this year, Greenwich Council ordered Comer Homes Group to knock down two occupied tower blocks after the developer failed to stick to conditions set out in the planning permission. 

This week’s deferral was the second time a decision on retrospective approval has been delayed.  

The matter was supposed to be decided in March but was deferred so that further ground investigations could be carried out.