CPO approved for Crewe roads scheme
Cheshire East Council has approved the use of compulsory purchase powers to deliver a £36.5m roads and infrastructure package to support the development of 1,350 homes.
The council tweeted on Tuesday afternoon: “Cabinet has approved the use of compulsory purchase powers for the delivery of the North West Crewe Package infrastructure scheme and has also authorised the council to enter into an Infrastructure Delivery Agreement for the scheme.”
The North West Crewe package includes a north-south spine road from Crewe towards the Greater Manchester connurbation, including the construction of a new A530 road linking Smithy Lane, Minshull New Road and Middlewich Road.
It also proposes the realignment of Smithy Lane, an east-west link road from the A530 to the spine road and a series of junction improvements.
The roads are intended to open up two sites earmarked for homes. These are Leighton West, which is earmarked to provide 850 homes, and Leighton, to provide a further 500.
Under the cabinet agreement yesterday, Cheshire East would use several CPOs to acquire a total of 39 plots of land needed to bring forward the roads and infrastructure package, should agreements with individual landowners not be possible.
However, the report from the council’s planners, examined by the cabinet this week, states that CPOs would only be used as a “last resort”.
During the meeting, the cabinet also approved Cheshire East’s carbon action plan, which sets out how the council will meet its target of becoming carbon neutral by 2025.
