10/4065C - Land South West of The Green, Middlewich: Outline Application for 68 Residential Dwellings over 2.25 Hectares. Access from The Green with some Matters Reserved
Meeting: 26/01/2011 - Strategic Planning Board (Item 98)
PDF 200 KBTo consider the above planning application.
The report relating to this application can be found in a supplementary pack to this agenda.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Consideration was given to the above application.
(Town Councillor Bagnall, representing Middlewich Town Council, Mr Foden, an objector and Mr Barton, the agent for the applicant attended the meeting and spoke in respect of the application).
RESOLVED
That the application be refused for the following reasons:-
1. The proposed residential development within the open countryside would be contrary to the provisions of Policies PS8 and H6 of the adopted Congleton Borough Local Plan First Review. Whilst it is acknowledged that the Council does not currently have a five year housing land supply and that, accordingly, in the light of the advice contained in PPS3 it should consider favourably suitable planning applications for housing, the current proposal is not considered to be “suitable” as it is located on the periphery of Middlewich, rather than Crewe. It would undermine the spatial vision for the area and wider policy objectives as it would be contrary to the general thrust of the Core Strategy Issues and Options which directs the majority of new development towards Crewe, as well as the Council’s Draft Interim Planning Policy on the Release of Housing Land and Policies RDF1 and MCR3 of the North West of England Plan Regional Spatial Strategy to 2021, which articulate the same spatial vision. This would be contrary to advice in PPS3 and PPS1, which states these emerging policies are material considerations. For these reasons the Housing Land Supply arguments advanced by the applicants are considered to be insufficient to outweigh the general presumption against new residential development within the Open Countryside as set out in the adopted development plan.
2. The Local Planning Authority considers that the proposed development is unacceptable due to the unsuitable location of and due to the lack of public open space that would be made available on the site. The proposed layout would include an area of 1264sq.m and the development would require a public open space with an area of 2540sq.m. The proposed development would therefore be contrary to Policies GR1 (General Requirements – New Development), GR3 (Design), GR22 (Open Space Provision) of the adopted Congleton Borough Local Plan First Review and the Councils SPD on Public Open Space Provision for New Residential Development and the Council’s Interim Policy on Public Open Space 2008.
3. The proposed development does not include a minimum of 25% of the total housing units on sites as unsubsidized low-cost market housing. The application site is a Greenfield site and the applicant’s case that there is sufficient low-cost market housing in the area is not accepted. The proposed development is therefore contrary to Policy H13 (Affordable and Low-cost Housing) of the adopted Congleton Borough Local Plan First Review and the Councils SPD on Affordable Housing and Mixed Communities.