Eric Pickles, the communities secretary, has given the thumbs up to 270 new homes on Cheshire agricultural land after discovering that local council policies for land supply are no longer in date, suggesting that new tenants may be ordering their loft conversions in Cheshire, after all.
A letter of decision confirmed that permission had been granted for the scheme proposed by Gladman Developments to get started on the building of a possible 270 homes, in addition to a convenience store and team room in Nantwich.
The developer appealed against the council’s non-determination of an outline application made in November of last year. After a public inquiry in March, however, an inspector gave a recommendation to approve the appeal and give permission.
The secretary of state discovered that there was no evidence of five years’ worth of deliverable housing land supply. Pickles was in agreement with the recommendation and gave his permission.
The letter of decision pointed out that the an oral submission was made by the council with regards to land supply and the circumstances surrounding the appeal, confirming the following:
“…it [the council] cannot demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing land; that it was not seeking to change its case in the light of the 2013 SHLAA published shortly before the inquiry; that it offered no challenge to the evidence of the appellant on this matter”.
Pickles said that the appeal of the proposed development wouldn’t have any further bearing than what has been previously approved for the site, and that an additional 30 properties would have no material effect on highway safety and capacity.
