Outline plans have been submitted for the demolition of a commercial car sales and storage business and erection of three dwellings on a site which is included in the recently adopted Cheshire East Local Plan as being removed from the Green Belt and reallocated as Safeguarded Land.
Oaklea Motors Ltd are proposing to knock down the existing buildings at Sunny Bank Drive and remove the large area of hardstanding which provides space for parking approximately 80 vehicles - 50% of which would be replaced with soft landscaping.
They wish to replace the existing buildings with three 3-bedroom houses along with a vehicle turning area and six parking spaces - which the applicant says will reduce the number of vehicles on Sunny Bank Drive, benefitting both residents and pedestrians.
The site is located at the southern end of Sunny Bank Drive, approximately 2.3 km to the south west of Wilmslow town centre and falls within Safeguarded Land Site CS36 'Land at Upcast Lane and Cumber Lane' in the new Cheshire East Local Plan.
A planning application for the demolition of outbuildings and the erection of 4 semi-detached properties (reference 15/4121M) was refused in November 2015 and an appeal was refused in July 2016 as the Inspector found the scheme would represent inappropriate development harmful to the Green Belt.
This latest application states that there is a materially different set of circumstances since the last decision because at that time the site was within the Green Belt and the commercial use of the site was not established. The site's lawful use for motor vehicle sales and storage was established in January 2017, making it a previously developed site within the Green Belt.
The supporting document says "The significant changes in circumstances that have occurred enable the proposal to be considered as appropriate development in the open countryside, that will not prejudice this area of safeguarded land's future development in accordance with Local Plan policies SD1, SD2 and SE2, being a windfall site on the edge of Wilmslow."
The outline plans can be viewed on the Cheshire East Council website by searching for planning reference 17/4092M. The last date for submitting comments is 6th September and a decision is expected by 4th October.
Comments
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There will be very good reason for CEC refusing this application given they have big ideas for developing the whole site in the future and regard Clarke's yard as being a part of the whole. But there is some attraction to having a discrete development here on brown site that will be in character with other properties in Sunny Bank Drive.