Plans submitted over a year ago for a new retail development adjacent to the existing Handforth Dean retail park are recommended for refusal next week.
The scheme by Orbit Developments includes the demolition of existing buildings and erection of a parade of units along with a standalone drive thru unit. The proposal is for five units to be used for retail and two units to be used for a restaurant/cafe or takeaway. The scheme also includes a car park containing 240 spaces and a new entrance off Earl Road.
The site which lies off Earl Road and Epsom Avenue currently contains a large warehouse and smaller office building, built in the 1970s, and scrubland. It is bounded to the west by the John Lewis distribution centre and to the east is the vacant site which Consolidated Property Group have recently submitted plans for a retail and leisure development comprising of retail units, cafes and restaurants, a gym and a hotel.
Planning permission has previously been granted for the demolition of the existing buildings and replacement with two office blocks but this has not come to fruition due to a lack of demand and plentiful supply in the local area.
Orbit's scheme is being recommended for refusal on the grounds that the loss of employment land is considered to significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of the proposal.
A report prepared for the Strategic Planning Board meeting on Wednesday, 24th February, states "Employment allocations are important to provide land for substantial buildings (including warehouse buildings) that cannot be located elsewhere such as in town centres or countryside locations. The proposal will result in the loss of employment land at a time when the Council is actively seeking additional employment land allocations as part of its emerging local plan. The need for sites is such that even Green Belt locations are currently being considered for employment purposes. The loss of the application site would exacerbate this situation and place further pressure to locate sites within the Green Belt.
It continues "The two buildings on the application site are occupied and therefore it cannot be concluded that there is no reasonable prospect of the site being used for employment purposes."
The planning application can be viewed on the Cheshire East Council website by searching for planning reference 15/0400M.
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