GAUNTLET Birds of Prey, Eagle and Vulture Park has won approval for a breeding centre.

The park is situated in Manchester Road, Knutsford, and the breeding and development centre will be housed in a new agricultural building.

It will contain nine aviaries in which birds will be looked after during their first few months of life.

The building will be situated alongside the birds of prey centre on farmland not in use.

It will be built on Green Belt land, and planners said the uniqueness of the scheme and its benefits to the rural economy outweighed any harm to the Green Belt.

The park is said to have the largest collection of birds of prey in the north west, and gives visitors the chance to see a wide range of birds.

In documents accompanying the planning application architects BTP said the centre was unable to breed birds due to space constraints.

“Existing stock are sent away to breed, and to be able to provide breeding on site would enhance the facility’s contribution to conservation and education,” said the firm.

“The new facility would allow Gauntlet to become more involved in endangered breeding programmes with other zoos in the UK and Europe. At the moment this is limited as Gauntlet have to send many of the birds away to breed.

“Gauntlet requires an additional building to provide a back-up site for breeding and for birds having medical treatments. A quiet location away from the busy centre is essential for successful bird breeding.”

Permission for the building was granted by Cheshire East Council following a report by planners recommending approval.

The report said the building was earmarked for North Cheshire Green Belt land, and construction of a building in the Green Belt was inappropriate unless it met a series of exceptions.

“The proposal requires ‘very special circumstances’ as a means of justifying the harm caused by inappropriateness on the openness of the Green Belt,” said the report.

“Despite impacting on the openness of the Green Belt through the construction of a sizeable building the site remains largely concealed from public vantage points due to the distances involved and level of hedgerow to the verge of Manchester Road.

“Given the uniqueness of the proposal and its clear benefits in supporting a prosperous rural economy the development warrants ‘very special circumstances’ which outweigh the harm caused by inappropriateness on the Green Belt.

“This is a unique facility aimed at education and conservation, which requires a countryside location to enable it to prosper.

“There would be no significant impact on the amenities of neighbouring occupiers or highway safety.”

The plan was supported by Knowsley Safari Park, which stressed Gauntlet’s important role in conserving endangered species.