CHESHIRE EAST TO CHALLENGE PLANNING INSPECTOR OVER CONGLETON HOUSING DEVELOPMENT

Cheshire East Council is to take legal action to try to overturn the decision of a planning inspector to grant permission for 200 homes on farmland on the edge of Congleton.

It is pushing ahead with the action despite being told by a barrister that the chances of a successful appeal are “remote”.

Instead it is pinning its hopes on wider arguments on government policy that are already being used by a local authority in Gloucestershire.

A council document, published ahead of a cabinet meeting on October 15, states: “Legal opinion has been obtained from the barrister who represented the council at the appeal and her opinion is that on planning grounds the chances of a successful appeal are remote.

“However, Tewkesbury Council is appealing against an inspector