New homes could replace gutted home in Knutsford

An application has been submitted to Cheshire East Council for planning permission for two three/four storey split level houses at the site of 2 Branden Drive, off Mobberley Road.

The current property at the site, a five bedroom detached house, suffered a catastrophic fire incident in September 2013, rendering it unsafe and in need of total demolition.

Homeowner Carol Gunter had lived at the property for 32 years at the time of the incident and submitted the new plans last month.

“It has to be an improvement from what is here now. It’s a terrible eyesore and it’s getting worse by the day,” she told the Guardian.

“It’s painful for me to see it every day. Virtually, I’m an elderly woman who is homeless at the moment.”

The plans for the houses, which would be three stories at the front and four at the rear, were considered by Knutsford Town Council’s planning committee on July 28.

Members objected to the proposal ‘on the grounds that the development is unneighbourly, overdevelopment of the site and out of keeping with the existing streetscene by virtue of its style, materials and the loss of front garden’.

Committee members also said there was no evidence there was sufficient room for the four parking spaces outlined in the application.

However, Carol said the plans meet the stringent standards set out by Cheshire East Council and that there was ample room for parking.

She added that a rebuild in line with the existing properties was not an option.

“They are a fire hazard, the way the stairs zigzag in the middle of the house,” she said. “The fire in my house started downstairs and shot up the stairs like a flue. They wouldn’t build to those plans today.”

Cheshire East’s decision target date for the application has been set for September 8.

“It is very unpleasant for the neighbours, I feel really bad about it,” Carol added. “This is a problem and I’m doing my best to put it right.”