Planning meeting is cancelled

A meeting of Cheshire East's Strategic Planning Board (SPB) has been cancelled with just one week's notice.

The meeting was scheduled for November 26th but was withdrawn yesterday as an extra SPB meeting was penciled in for December 9th.

No reason has yet been give for the decision to cancel the latest SPB meeting, the third this month, and which was to follow two meetings held behind closed doors.

Press and public were excluded from a meeting on November 6th when councillors discussed the cost implications of pursuing a number of outstanding planning appeals "as a matter of urgency".

And a further SPB meeting, called with just two days notice on November 15th, was held entirely behind closed doors to "receive an update with regard to ongoing planning appeals".

There has, to date, been no official statement from Cheshire East on what matters were discussed or what decisions were made at these 'closed' meetings.

Speculation is growing that the council may consider dropping its opposition to outstanding appeals, including one by Gladman Developments to build up to 120 home in Audlem, because of a much reduced chance of winning their case.

The council's strategy in fighting planning appeals lodged by speculative housing developers has been called into serious question after the government rejected Cheshire East's housing land supply figures contained in its emerging Local Plan.

A duplicate planning application from Gladman is due to go before Cheshire East's SPB on December 4th, just five days before the rescheduled meeting of December 9th and coincidentally, the same date that the Gladman 2 application "runs out of time".

It was the failure of Cheshire East to determine the Gladman 1 application within the statutory 13 weeks that led to Gladman lodging an appeal for "non-determination".

The duplicate Gladman application was lodged on September 3rd, giving Cheshire East until December 10th to decide to refuse or to grant consent.

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