A 63-BED care home will be built in Wilmslow following demolition work after planning chiefs approved the controversial scheme.

New Care Projects’ plans for a 60-bed care home, on Handforth Road, was initially refused in January 2020.

However, it went on to win the case on appeal to the planning inspectorate last August.

But New Care has amended the scheme by adding three bedrooms to the proposed site, along with minor elevation changes.

Cheshire East Council’s northern planning committee approved the application during its virtual meeting today, Wednesday.

The scheme also comprises the demolition of two existing detached properties, along with associated landscaping, car park and access.

Planning officers said the proposed landscaping and car parking ‘would remain the same as that allowed on appeal’, and had recommended CEC’s northern planning committee approve the bid.

Concerns had been raised over the site being out of character with surrounding residential properties, insufficient parking spaces, the impact on highway safety and it being the wrong use for the site.

Cllr Tony Dean, Conservative member for Knutsford, said he agrees with an ‘awful lot’ of the objections to the scheme.

He added: “I’m especially concerned about parking because I’ve got personal experience when my mother was in a local home, but never being able to park there in the actual parking spaces.

“It was impossible, it was always overfull, and it seems it’s difficult to park outside this one so it does concern me.

“But on the other hand it doesn’t concern the inspector and he’s the person who has already said even with the 65-bedroom application that the parking was ok, so I feel as though I’m going to be overpowered on that.

“The question is the three bedrooms – do the three bedrooms, in our view, make this application unacceptable to a theoretical inspector, because there’s no point in us refusing this then it goes to the inspector and he just overturns us again?

“I personally can’t see three extra bedrooms making that much difference to an inspector, so I feel between a rock and a hard place here.

“I feel like objecting to this but I fear it will be a waste of our time and money.”

Cllr Nick Mannion, Labour member for Macclesfield West and Ivy, said, in light of the inspector’s comments, that while he emphasises with residents’ concerns about the scheme, he thinks ‘we are between a rock and a hard place’.