Gladman set for another Congleton refusal

Gladman’s proposals for 98 homes on a plot near Congleton are set to be knocked back by Cheshire East Council, the second of the land promoter’s schemes to be recommended for refusal in the past month.

The proposals for the 10-acre site off Waggs Road have attracted fierce opposition from local residents, with 283 letters of objection put forward, and Cheshire East’s planning officers have argued the scheme should be refused at a meeting next week.

Gladman is proposing outline consent for up to 98 homes and public open space, and the land promoter argued the scheme would represent sustainable development in the borough with benefits including the provision of affordable housing and open space.

However, residents’ concerns centre on the loss of open countryside, wildlife, and hedgerows, along with highways impacts. Congleton Town Council, which also objected to the scheme, pointed out the precedent for applications being refused on the site.

The site has seen several attempts at development in the past decade; plans to build 104 homes on the site were refused in December 2013 and dismissed at appeal the following year, with the council citing a loss of open countryside.

Similar proposals returned in April 2017 and were again refused over highways issues and the impact on open countryside.

In the latest planning application, officers have again cited the loss of open countryside as a reason to refuse, while also arguing Gladman has used “insufficient [and/or] out of date information” over the development’s impact on highways.

Planners said given Cheshire East’s five-year supply of housing land, both of these factors should attract “significant weight”, with the positive impact of new housing provision and affordable homes only given “moderate weight” in the planning balance.

The recommendation to refuse is another blow to Gladman in the area; the land promoter had been attempting to gain consent for 150 homes on a site on Macclesfield Road, Eaton. These plans were also recommended for refusal at planning committee in August, but were withdrawn before facing members.

Cheshire East’s strategic planning board will decide on the scheme on 25 September.

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Offer the greedy lot more money ..guaranteed to get plans past

By Nigel

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