RESIDENTS opposing housing plans for Holmes Chapel say there is little difference in the latest scheme from the one rejected by councillors.

Altin Homes is seeking approval to demolish a property at Bank Farm House in Middlewich Road and build six houses.

A previous application for seven houses was refused in December for design and layout reasons.

The number of houses proposed has been reduced to six in the resubmitted scheme, which the developers say addresses concerns raised by councillors.

PWA Planning said: “The scale of development and its context in relation to its location is considered acceptable, and whilst there would be some impacts it is not considered there would be sufficient harm to significantly and demonstrably outweigh the many benefits.”

Despite the changes residents are still opposed to the scheme.

Stewart and Leah Hamilton from Middlewich Road said: “The reduction of one house does not result in any material improvement in the application.

“The proposed development remains an overly-cramped form of development that would fail to respect the local character, and the mix of dwellings proposed does not reflect the identified mix needed in the parish and required by the Holmes Chapel Neighbourhood Plan.”

Guy Healing from Elmore Close said: “Very little has changed from the first submission apart from a slight reduction in the density of the housing on the site.

“The site is too small for six four-bedroomed properties; this will result in the new houses being too close to the boundaries and affecting the outlook of the neighbouring houses.

“The allowance for parking for three cars per property could mean a total of 18 residents’ cars.

“Any additional visitors vehicles may be unable to be safely parked on the single width access road, making it highly likely cars will be parked on the Middlewich Road, causing congestion on an already busy thoroughfare.”

Robert Hopkins from Middlewich Road said: “There is already sufficient development of new 4/5 bedroom houses to the east and west of Holmes Chapel, which meet the maximum number of houses required in the village as outlined in the recent Neighbourhood Plan.

“The existing infrastructure - schools, medical centre and community services - will struggle to cope with the 600 new homes already proposed.

“The proposed new vehicle access onto Middlewich Road will create a serious hazard on a road already heavily congested with traffic.

“The addition of up to 17 new vehicles using this access will cause major problems, especially for properties on the opposite side of Middlewich Road.

“Bank Farm is bounded by sheltered retirement homes that would be badly affected by the disturbance and noise during construction.”

Cheshire East Council is due to decide on the scheme by April 17, and the deadline for comments is March 22.