PLANS for a housing estate on the site of a disused garden centre have been rejected for a second time.

Atlin Homes had submitted a revised application to Cheshire West and Chester Council to build 16 homes to replace the former All-In-One Garden Centre, in Allostock, which closed in 2016.

An application for 22 homes at the London Road site was previously refused in July 2020 on the grounds it was 'not readily accessible' to amenities, would 'urbanise the countryside' and would 'impair the efficiency' of the Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope.

Now the latest plans to develop the site, which were reduced in scale, have been thrown out for similar reasons.

In the council's decision notice, it states: "The proposal would represent new residential development in the open countryside which does not require a countryside location.

"The development would not be readily accessible to services and facilities, employment and would not have good connections to public transport and would be primarily reliant on the use of private motor vehicles.

"Consequently, the proposed development would fail to promote sustainable communities and

would represent an unsustainable form of development having regard to the location of the site.

"The proposed development will impair the efficiency of the Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope, which

is an internationally important scientific facility."

The plans would have seen a mix of four-bedroom semi-detached and detached houses built on the 2.67 hectare site.

Atlin Homes had tried to work with the council to resolve the issues, but was unsuccessful.

A planning statement, submitted on behalf of Atlin Homes as part of the application, said: "In respect of the resubmission, the applicant remains committed to working with the council to find a solution for the site and would like to engage at the earliest opportunity in a proactive manner.

"The site has continued to deteriorate, both physically and aesthetically since the original pre-application submissions and planning application and is attracting security issues for neighbouring properties.

"This is having a negative impact on their amenity, but also has a wider impact on the countryside location.

"The proposal is thought to be, in its current form, the most sustainable option for the site, both in terms of associated trip rates, impact on Jodrell Bank and the range of options to reuse the existing onsite building for other, potentially more intrusive, uses now available to the site via changes in the Use Classes Order and the introduction of the new planning use Class E."

The application was rejected on August 31 and Atlin Homes has six months from that date to appeal the decision.

For more details on the plans, search the council's online planning portal using reference 21/00683/FUL.