PLANNERS have recommended a 54-home scheme for Wilmslow be approved, despite objections from one of Cheshire East’s wholly-owned companies.

Outline approval for up to 60 homes on the land west of Alderley Road was granted in 2018.

Cheshire East’s northern planning committee is due to consider the reserved matters application dealing with the layout, landscaping, appearance and scale of the scheme at its meeting on Wednesday (August 10).

The application has been recommended for approval by the council’s planning officers, despite objections from Ansa Greenspace, a Cheshire East-owned company.

Ansa says it is unable to support the application and has raised 10 concerns, mainly relating to the proposed play area.

These include the location of the proposed play area; lack of surveillance due its location which could also lead to anti-social behaviour; concerns about the siting of the play area within a flood zone; the proximity of the site to a highway without a gate and lack of maintenance access.

Wilmslow Town Council has objected, stating it is contrary to a number of policies in the neighbourhood plan for a variety of reasons.

These include it fails to deliver development of ‘exceptional quality and architectural design required for such a key gateway’; it fails to respect the local character, the types of houses and their distribution within the wider area; and the proposed development does not appear to have demonstrated a net-gain in biodiversity.

There were also 17 objections from local residents and these included concerns about highways, parking, poor housing mix and flood risk.

But the council’s planning officer says the scheme, which is for 38 market dwellings and 16 affordable, is acceptable.

In a report due to go to the northern planning committee, the officer states: “Following extensive negotiations and the receipt of various sets of revised and further plans, it is now deemed that the layout, scale and appearance of the application proposals is acceptable.

“It is considered that the scheme achieves the correct balance between respecting the specific design characteristics of Fulshaw Park and its gateway location as well as providing a good mix of properties in order to create a sustainable community.”

It continues: “Matters in relation to landscape, including trees, are deemed to be acceptable in principle, subject to the specific detail being agreed by the council’s landscape officer.

“The scheme is deemed to satisfy the requirements of the council’s highway’s officer and would result in no notable concerns regarding neighbouring amenity, or ecology subject to conditions.”

The application is recommended for approval subject to satisfactory receipt of outstanding consultee responses and conditions.

The planning meeting will take place on Wednesday, August 10, at 10am at Macclesfield Town Hall.