Muller tries again in Sandbach

Muller Property Group faces the prospect of a third refusal in 12 months as its proposals for 57 homes, a petrol station and convenience store, drive thru, and three-storey offices on land off Old Mill Road head back to committee.

After being refused in March and August 2019, Muller has once more amended its proposals. However, council officers still consider them to be “harmful” to residents’ privacy due to the planned apartments overlooking existing homes, and that the design “fails to take the opportunities available for improving the character and quality of the area”, and that it would “have a detrimental impact on biodiversity and pedestrian crossings”.

The Alsager-based developer already has consent for a residential development of up to 200 homes and open space at the Fields Farm site, off Old Mill Road, but launched a consultation in 2018 for this mixed-use scheme.

Permission for the previous applications was sought for 7.1-acres, and included a 21,000 sq ft foodstore, a filling station with retail, expected to be operated by BP and M&S Simply Food respectively, two drive-thru units, a farm shop and two retail pods of around 1,400 sq ft, to be operated by a national bakery and national sandwich chain.

This latest application plots a 9,100 sq ft office, 5,200 sq ft of shops, and 5,100 sq ft of food retailers. A national fast food operator would manage the 3,100 sq ft drive thru, and a coffee chain would operate the 1,800 sq ft cafe drive thru.

The petrol station would still be operated by BP and the attached convenience store by M&S Simply Food.

A mix of 25 houses and 32 apartments is proposed. Both apartment blocks would be stepped two and three-storeys, and have a duplex apartment in the roof space. The southern most apartment block would have two units in the roof space. Terraced homes would divide the two blocks.

Harris Lamb Property Consultancy and TFA Architects worked on the scheme.

Muller Homes Apartment Scheme Old Mill Lane Cheshire February 2020

The proposed apartment blocks

Your Comments

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is the mixed use element even needed anymore? hasn’t somebody got plans for a drive thru etc just up the road from here in the much better location of right next to the motorway?

By .

That elevation copied out of the 80’s?…terrible

By Sham Architect

@ Sham Architect – Wrong decade, they were drawn with MS Paint in 1995

By Vinny

Will make an unwelcome contribution to an already oversubscribed infrastructure and road system.

By Concerned

Is everybody trying to ruin Sandbach you can not park cafes are always full.Everybody you speak to does not want anymore new ugly looking houses that do nothing to enhance Sandbach town center.

By Stuart Evans

Totally unacceptable proposals. The volume of traffic at present is a nightmare with 40% increase in residents already in a small market town. Planners need to continue refusing permission for this totally unacceptable application.

By Bob Mynett

This should go ahead. I’m not too sure about drive through or fast food but we desperately need a further (inbetween over expensive and cheap) store and a petrol station. Unless we drive to another Town we cannot buy reasonably priced petrol in Sandbach.

By Mrs Smith

What a complete monstrosity….a sea of car parking and some cheap and nasty little apartments which look dated before they’re even built!

By snoutsinthetrough

It is very easy for people to say this should go ahead. But they don’t live near it they won’t have to put up with the constant noise from a petrol station or shop or take into account the environmental impact this will have on the area. I look after hedgehogs that need rehoming. This is not a practical place to build anything in my option so leave well alone. In fact leave sandbach alone or it will end up ruined like crewe.

By Mrs Tomlinson

We have lived in Sandbach for 32 years and have watched it grow from a lovely town to a vastly enlarged commuter town.
Please do not allow this development to get planning permission as we have enough new houses and shops, , and excellent petrol station and plenty of places to eat in Sandbach.
The traffic that flows through the bypass passed the Waitrose island and to Crewe or Sandbach has increased dramatically over the years.
At times there are always traffic congestion into and out of Sandbach and this proposed building development would greatly add to the congestion.
My suggest is that they build the commercial development on the site by the motorway next to the existing garage.

By Margaret Roe

Surely if you already live in the area of the M6 it’s noisy any way. So I don’t see what difference it would make in regards noise and pollution

By Mrs Smith

NB
And also remember if you are in any of the new housing then this was also met with opposition but passed all the same

By Mrs Smith

Before anyone builds more properties, let’s have more parking spaces in an already over crowded town and a better traffic flow plan through what is now a very crowded road junction. Our planners have lost the plot!

By Michael

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