An application for outline planning permission, along with matters of Access, for the erection of up to 9 dwellings on this greenfield site will be considered by the Northern Planning Committee next week.
The site comprises a parcel of a undeveloped land approximately 0.44ha on the northeastern fringe of Alderley Edge (although within the parish of Wilmslow) within the Green Belt.
To the immediate north-east is the residential property of Jenny Heyes, the north-west / west of the site is bound by Hayes Lane and Whitehall Brook is to the south.
A single vehicle access is proposed towards the northern end of the site, onto Heyes Lane. In addition, a new 2-metre-wide pedestrian footpath along the southern roadside edge, but within the application site is proposed, a drop crossing, the widening of an existing section of pavement and a slight re-alignment of a section of Heyes Lane.
The description of the development was amended during the application process to include the words 'up to'. Also, during the assessment process, a revised indicative layout plan was received, removing a detached garage to the dwelling shown to serve plot 5 and shifting the development southwards to accommodate a footpath within the application site as opposed to it being proposed on the site frontage at the expense of the boundary hedgerow.
Matters relating to Layout, Scale, Appearance and Landscaping are reserved for subsequent approval.
The application has been 'called-in' to Northern Planning Committee by Councillor Craig Browne for the following reasons: inappropriate development within the green belt, the application represents a significant departure from the previous application (23/4024M), which was considered by Northern Planning Committee and approved in principle on the basis that it was an "affordable housing exception site" for the development of 9 affordable homes and in the latest version of this application, the number of affordable units has been reduced to just three, with the remaining six to be available at market value.
Councillor Browne said "The proposals are therefore no longer consistent with the definition of an "affordable housing exception site" and should therefore be reconsidered against Policy PG3 as inappropriate development within the green belt."
The planning officer is recommending the outline planning application for approval at the Northern Planning Committee meeting on Wednesday, 20th August.
Stating "The application proposals are deemed to fall within one of the exceptions to inappropriate development in the Green Belt, that relating to Grey Belt. It is considered that the application site does represent Grey Belt land, would not fundamentally undermine the purposes (taken together) of the remaining Green Belt across the area of the plan, that there is a demonstrable need for the type of development proposed (housing) and that the application site is in a sustainable location.
With regards to access, the report states "The Council's Highways Officer is satisfied that the scheme provides adequate visibility and accessibility, subject to the highways works being secured. As matters of design (Layout, Scale and Appearance) as well as matters of Landscaping are not sought for determination at this stage, these matters can only be considered in principle. Officer concerns have been raised in relation to the number of dwellings proposed. However, given that the site already benefits from an extant permission for 9 dwellings and because the Council had previously allocated the site for 10 dwellings, it is deemed that 9 dwelling can be accommodated on the site, albeit in a likely different arrangement to that indicatively presented. This would be considered at Reserved Matters stage."
The planning application can be viewed on the Cheshire East Council planning portal by searching for reference 25/1064/OUT.
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