Plans for Henbury housing scheme on hold

The proposed housing development at Henbury, Macclesfield, has been deferred by councillors — after a lengthy three-hour discussion.

The scheme, by Bellway Homes, is for 134 houses built on greenfields off Chelford Road.

However, the council’s strategic planning board requested more information on the peat that lies beneath the land and expressed concerns over the design and mix of proposed housing.

Cllr Ashley Farrall, (Macclesfield Central ward), said: “The whole area is visible. There is nothing to stop you seeing it — just because they are in a bit from the road doesn’t mean they cannot be seen.

Cllr Ashley Farrall, (Macclesfield Central ward), said: “The whole area is visible. There is nothing to stop you seeing it — just because they are in a bit from the road doesn’t mean they cannot be seen.

“We do not want to ask the developer to provide an exact mix [of housing in line with Macclesfield’s demands] but we would want it to be more reflective.

“If your solution is to use peat for landscaping, and you do not know how much peat there is, then you might have excess peat on your hands.”

Plans submitted by Bellway show that just two of the proposed properties were less than three or four bedrooms — although Cllr Farrall pointed out that data from Macclesfield suggested there is far greater demand for one or two bed homes.

Outline planning permission, granted in 2019, only allowed them to focus on landscaping and layout issues — despite ‘serious concerns’ being expressed over the land’s susceptibility to flooding, and pollution levels nearby being of an ‘unlawfully high’ levels.

Broken Cross and Upton Councillor Cllr James Barber said: “There are some permanent streams that run along the area. They go across and lead into where the surface water issues are.

“If you ever visited the fields, you would wonder why anyone wants to build housing here — visit the fields when there are issues and you would think ‘it’s not a house you need, you need a boat’.

“This application will also have a hugely detrimental impact on our young people — children will have to walk to school in an already dangerous air quality management area.”

In effect, that decision of a previous planning committee painted this afternoon’s (January 27) members into a corner.

Developers can now re-submit the application with amendments, should they choose to.

For further details see https://www.henbury.org/news/planning-win-for-henbury.html?fbclid=IwAR1AcmLkVddY81XWiakHk-yrUToWm2rSgYYSq5zbMnxF50APQijSzCJd0LA