Plans to build a 63 bedroom care home on Handforth Road have been approved by the Northern Planning Committee this week.
New Care Projects won their appeal in August 2020 to enable a new care home to be built in Wilmslow. However, after a two and a half year battle to secure planning permission, the Altrincham based company amended the approved plans in November 2020 seeking to increase the number of bedrooms from 60 to 63 and make minor changes to the elevations.
At their meeting on Wednesday, 13th January, seven members of the Northern Planning Committee voted to approve the plans whilst two voted against and two absteined.
Speaking about the decision, Cllr Craig Browne - Chairman of the Northern Planning Committee, said "Members expressed their dissatisfaction that a government Planning Inspector had seen fit to overturn their previous decision to refuse the application for a 60-bed development on this site (19/3831M) last year, disregarding the views of elected members as well as the concerns and objections of local residents.
"However, by a majority they accepted that in the light of that appeal decision, it would be difficult to sustain a refusal for what had effectively become an application for just three bedrooms."
He added "It is notable that both East Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group and the Head of Cheshire East Council Adult Services raised objections to the Care Home application, based on there already being excess capacity and a large number of vacancies in Care Homes across the Primary Care Network."
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
Absolutely no reason to override the Inspectors decision based on the revised plans put before him (which itself was a highjack).
The whole system stinks and I suspect, given the unusual circumstances that C-19 has now created in what was already a recognised depressed demand for care home capacity, New Care Projects will probably not rush to commence construction (although they will drop Nos. 51 and 53 Handforth Road pronto - just in case!). They have 3 years 'life' on what has now been 'nodded' through on a good majority by NPC - watch this space.
The local strategic development plan (another utterly shameful disregard of widespread local public opinion) exists - say in less than a mile radius of this recent proposal - there are 3 distinct sites (absolute 'clean sheets of paper'), two of which are now under construction, that could have included (if really deemed/proven necessary) some nursing home provision.
As a diversion from this fiasco, has anybody else been watching Coronation St ? One of the storylines is about an unscrupulous,egotistical developer buying houses from gullible,desperate homeowners, aided in his scheme to build his unwanted project by a planning officer, something tells me that he will get his comeuppance, but that’s television for you. Hope Peter Barlow gets better