Question mark on Gladman appeal

The first sign of a question mark has emerged over Cheshire East's pledge to fight against Gladman's proposals for Audlem.

Cheshire East councillors went into secret session last Wednesday to discuss the financial implications of fighting dozens of housing applications from speculative developers.

The discussion, held behind closed doors, could be the first sign that Cheshire East may decide not to contest an appeal by Gladman Developments against the council's non-determination of its application to build up to 120 homes at Little Heath.

An 'Urgent Item' was included on the agenda of Wednesday's meeting of the Strategic Planning Board to discuss matters without the press and public present.

The subject of the urgent item was a 12-page document entitled "Five Year Housing Land Supply and Planning Appeals"

Committee chairman, Harold Davenport, had agreed to include the item as a matter of urgency.

Committee members were told: "There is an urgent need to consider the implications of the recent appeal decision on the Council's case at forthcoming planning appeal inquiries. The Council needs to act quickly to avoid abortive work and mitigate the risk of awards of costs."

Cheshire East has been forced to rethink its strategy on fighting planning appeals in the wake of a recent government rejection of the council's housing land supply figures.

When two appeals were allowed by speculative developers, Secretary of State Eric Pickles ruled that the council's Local Plan had "not demonstrated a five year supply of deliverable housing sites"

Cheshire East's decision to contest the Gladman proposals for Audlem could be particularly vulnerable to any change in policy.

Not only is the 'five year housing land supply' argument central to Cheshire East's case against Gladman but Cheshire East also failed to determine the planning application within the statutory 13 weeks.

In cases of non-determination, the appellant's costs are almost always awarded against the council if it wins its appeal.

Audlem Parish Council was told recently that the costs of fighting the Gladman appeal would be around £20,000 but that the Local Authority was committed to fighting the case for Audlem.

But without its Local Plan in place and with questions hanging over its emerging house building strategy it is conceivable that Cheshire East might question the wisdom of pursuing a £20,000 appeal that does not have strong enough grounds to ensure a positive result.

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