Bird's Nest Appeal Dismissed

This is the Parish Council's comment on the Inspector's decision to reject the Bird's Nest Appeal.

Bird's Nest Appeal Decision

Councillors are very pleased at the outcome of the Appeal as it justifies the many hours of work put in by the Planning Group at both the original application stage and the subsequent Appeal. Similarly, it vindicates the huge effort put in by volunteers to produce the Neighbourhood Plan and the residents who supported it.

Despite Policies H1 (Number of New Homes) and H3 (Scale of New Development) of the Neighbourhood Plan not being given full weight, the Inspector, Siobhan Watson, still felt that they were relevant when considering the Appeal. It was also pleasing to see that Policies H6 and H7 which cover Affordable Housing were taken into account as well.

The Inspector denied the Appeal on the following grounds:

• Harm to the character and appearance of the countryside (the site being outside the settlement boundary and;
• The fact that the appellants refused to confirm in writing that they would provide the adequate level of affordable housing

Her decision confirms the theory of protecting the open countryside and the relevance of the settlement boundary which is the thrust of the Housing Policies in the Neighbourhood Plan.

From her comments it is clear that the confirmation of the Cheshire East 5 year Housing Land Supply and the housing numbers required from each Local Service Centre are increasingly important if we are to have confidence that the community views outlined in the Neighbourhood Plan are endorsed.

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