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Pickles blocks 300 homes in east Cheshire green gap


Communities secretary Eric Pickles has dismissed an appeal that would have permitted the construction of up to 300 homes in the ‘green gap’ between two east Cheshire towns.

Housebuilder Gladman Developments applied to Cheshire East Council in June 2013 for outline permission to build up to 300 two- to five-bedroom homes on 14 hectares of fields in the village of Wistaston, two miles to the west of Crewe town centre.

Saved policies of the Borough of Crewe and Nantwich Replacement Local Plan (BCNRLP) sought to prevent development in the green gap between Crewe and neighbouring Nantwich; restrict development  in 'open countryside' outside defined development limits; and prevent the loss of 'best and most versatile agricultural land' (BMVA). The Council considered that Gladman's proposal conflicted with these policies and it refused permission for the scheme.

Gladman appealed the Council's decision. Following a public inquiry in August 2014, planning inspector John Chase recommended that the appeal should be allowed and permission should be granted for the scheme. A decision letter (46-page / 908 KB PDF) issued on Thursday on behalf of the communities secretary said Pickles disagreed with the inspector's recommendation.

Earlier this week, the High Court ruled that another appeal in the same area should be reconsidered, after finding that an inspector had been incorrect to consider the BCNRLP green gap policy to be a housing policy and therefore out-of-date in light of the Council's inability to demonstrate a five year supply of housing land. The decision letter said that, having considered the High Court judgment, Pickles gave "significant weight" to the policy "in relation to the importance of avoiding erosion of the physical gaps between built-up areas and avoiding adverse impacts on the visual character of the landscape".

The communities secretary acknowledged the inspector's conclusion that there were "aspects of the location of the appeal site which diminish its contribution to the purpose of the green gap of separating Wistaston and Nantwich". However, Pickles noted that the emerging Cheshire East local plan (CELP) proposed "an enlarged green belt to maintain and carry forward the policy of separation embodied in the green gap policy" and took the view that allowing the appeal and permanently releasing the appeal site from the green gap "could undermine the plan-making process".

Pickles agreed with the inspector that the saved policy restricting housebuilding outside the development boundaries should be considered out of date. He also agreed that, whilst the loss of 10 hectares of BMVA land under the proposal was in conflict with the Council's development plan, "there is no indication that the loss would be significant in terms of the overall supply of agricultural land in the area".

The communities secretary gave "significant weight" to the benefit of the provision of new homes, including affordable housing, under the proposal. However, Pickles concluded that "the adverse impacts of the appeal proposal, especially in terms of the conflict with [the green gap policy] and the permanent loss of this green gap in advance of the conclusion of the CELP would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits".

Gladman, or any other interested party, has the right to challenge the decision in the High Court within six weeks.

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