Issue - meetings

To consider the Notice of Motion referred from Council on 23^rd February 2012.

The Board considered a report on a Notice of Motion submitted to Council on 23^rd February 2012 regarding the impact of development on Sydney RoadBridge in Crewe.

The motion, which had been proposed by Councillor S Hogben, was as follows:

“Coppenhall East Crewe

No large scale housing plans in Coppenhall East should be approved or signed off until essential improvements to the road bridge over the Crewe to Manchester railway line on Sydney Road, as well as the northern relief road from Crewe Green roundabout to the A530 Middlewich Road, have been approved.”

Councillor Hogben attended the meeting to explain the background to the motion.

Sydney Road was an important distributor route in northern Crewe. It connected the Leighton and Coppenhall areas of Crewe with the Crewe Green Roundabout.

On 19^th October 2011, the Strategic Planning Board approved a planning application for 650 homes during the spring of 2011 on a site at Coppenhall East.

The Council had a duty to consider and determine planning applications provided they were properly made. If any future application had an impact on the Sydney Road bridge, this would be a material consideration in its determination. However, the Council could not rule out the proper assessment of development proposals which may come forward at a future time.

The Motion did, however, serve to emphasise an area of concern on the local highway network. It would be appropriate for the Strategic Board and other planning committees to explore the impact of proposed development on the bridge and examine whether applications were accompanied by suitable measures to mitigate any identified impacts. In addition, the forthcoming Cheshire East Local Plan would be underpinned by further traffic studies and would be accompanied by an Infrastructure Plan.

RESOLVED

That

(1)   the Board notes that a decision was made on planning application 11/1643 for Coppenhall East on 19^th October 2011;

(2)   the Board further notes that the Council has a duty to consider and determine any fresh planning application in the Coppenhall area strictly on its planning merits; and

(3)    the Officers be asked to pursue the inclusion of a scheme for the improvement of the Sydney RoadBridge in the Local Transport Plan to enable the scheme to receive suitable prioritisation, and the improvement of the Bridge be identified as an issue within the Local Plan Infrastructure Plan at the appropriate time.