A LONG-RUNNING battle could soon be over after councillors gave the go-ahead for 10 new homes in Ollerton – but seven more could eventually be built.

Mobberley-based Brighouse Homes first applied to build 26 houses at the former Ollerton Nursery in August 2016, but the plans were refused in May 2017.

A second proposal for 17 houses on the site was then refused by councillors a year later, before the developer submitted an application for 10 properties – including two affordable homes.

At a meeting on Wednesday, Cheshire East Council’s northern planning committee approved the proposal – but after Brighouse Homes took the plan for 17 homes to the High Court, that proposal is now back on the table.

Simon Noblet, the architect working for Brighouse, told the committee: “The refusal of permission of the previous application for 17 residential units on the site at appeal has recently been quashed.

“The reasoning provided for the refusal of the claim was not adequate, and it is being redetermined.”

Planning inspector Andrew Parkin ruled last November that Brighouse’s appeal against CEC’s decision should be dismissed.

The Planning Inspectorate has confirmed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service that after the applicant took that outcome to the High Court, Mr Parkin’s ruling has since been overturned.

Brighouse’s appeal for 17 homes will now go back to the Planning Inspectorate to be decided by another inspector.

CEC officers told the northern planning committee that it still needed to resolve the proposal for 10 homes regardless of the situation surrounding the appeal.

Ollerton with Marthall Parish Council objected to the scheme, suggesting it would affect the openness of the green belt.

Cllr George Walton, Conservative CEC member for Chelford, added: “There are concerns regarding the highway safety matters – especially with the proposed site entrance being located near the dangerous Ollerton crossroads.

 

“The views of a considerable number of local residents clearly question the actual desirability and need of this development.”

But Mr Noblet insisted the scheme would ‘bring social and economic benefits to the area’ and would be a visual improvement on the derelict buildings currently on the site.

Opening the debate, Cllr Tony Dean, Conservative, suggested the development would be important step in providing much-needed housing.

“I think the requirement for new houses across the country should be spread out as evenly as it possibly can,” he said.

“And I realise that these aren’t starter homes, apart from perhaps two of them, but the ladder system means that if people move in here then houses will become available elsewhere.”

However, Conservative Cllr Hilda Gaddum insisted she had ‘major concerns’ about road safety on the A537 – at the junction with Seven Sisters Lane.

“That crossroads is very nasty,” she said.

“The number of times you almost take your life into your own hands if you are turning right out of Seven Sisters Lane onto the main road is very, very worrying.”

Members approved the outline planning application by eight votes to two – while more detailed proposals on the road access to the site are expected to come back to the committee in a ‘reserved matters’ application.

The existing Ollerton Nursery building will be converted into offices as part of the scheme.

Cllr Walton, who is chairman of the committee, did not vote on the application.