Parish Council to quiz top Cheshire planners

Top planning officials from Cheshire East look set to be quizzed by Audlem parish councillors at their monthly meeting tonight.

Cheshire's Principal Planning Officer, Ben Haywood, and Development and Building Control Manager, Stephen Irvine, are scheduled to speak on proposed village housing developments and to answer questions.

The October meeting of Audlem Parish Council is being held at the Methodist Church Hall this evening at 7.30pm and members of the public are invited to comment on any of the items on the agenda or draw attention to matters of concern before ordinary business commences.

Tonight's meeting could attract some testing questions to planners given the strength of opinion in many quarters about the way the Gladman plan for Little Heath went straight to appeal after Cheshire East failed to determine the proposal within the statutory 13 weeks.

Parish councillors may also want the latest update on Cheshire East's Local Plan and its housing supply strategy which lies at the heart of several appeals by speculative developers to build housing estates in the open countryside at towns and villages across the borough including two in Audlem.

And they may want to question planners on why no funding for village projects has been included in a provisional Section 106 agreement that could be tied to any approval for the Gladman proposals.

The omission comes despite written representation from Audlem Parish Council and the villages's Public Hall committee for village projects to be considered in any agreements made.

After quizzing Cheshire East planners, parish councillors are to discuss their next course of action on the Gladman appeal, a duplicate application by Gladman for Little Heath and the application by Hockenhull Properties Ltd to build up to 36 homes on field off the Mill Lane bridleway.

Parish councillors have already decided to speak directly to Cheshire East's Strategic Planning Board meeting on Wednesday which will discuss both the Gladman and the Hockenhull schemes.

You can read the agenda for tonight's Audlem Parish Council meeting by clicking here and members of the public are welcome to attend

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