More new homes for Lyme Green

Cheshire East looks likely to give Bovis Homes the go-ahead to build up to 330 houses on a former green belt site to the south of Macclesfield, near Lyme Green Business Park – at a cost of £2.759 million to the developers.

The site, roughly 57 acres, wraps itself around the council’s Lyme Green Highways Depot while Ray’s Wood Nature Reserve sits to the south, with the Macclesfield Canal to the west. The area has been allocated for housing under Cheshire East’s Local Plan.

The housebuilder’s outline application is for 330 houses with more details of scale to come forward at a later date. There is also provision for around 300,000 sq ft of public open space, a children’s play area, and a community building within the application. Access is to be via London Road and the homes will be served by a new internal network of roads.

Green buffers are factored in to separate the site from the Macclesfield Canal and the nature reserve to the south.

Around 30% of the houses have been put forward as affordable, amounting to circa 90 homes, with a 65%-35% split between social rent and 35 as intermediate tenure.

Cheshire East’s planning officers have backed the scheme by recommending it for approval ahead of it going before the council’s strategic planning board on Wednesday 19th December.

The planners’ report said the proposals would provide the required amount of affordable housing and would not have an impact on highways, subject to a Section 106 contribution. Planners also recommended limiting the number of homes on the site to 310, rather than the application’s proposed 330, to “safeguard the future amenity of occupants” from the Lyme Green Depot.

Planning officers have been recommended approval subject to a Section 106 agreement including a £1.7m education contribution featuring £800,000 towards secondary and £670,000 towards primary. There will also be £333,000 towards healthcare provision, along with £726,000 for highways – totalling £2,759,000.