A zoo left in limbo over relocating to Holmes Chapel after council officers and councillors clashed over a planning decision has now been told it can go ahead with the move.

On Wednesday (July 31st) Cheshire East's southern planning committee unanimously approved the application from Zoo2U for the zoo to be based on land at The Orchards Farm (Bidlea Dairy) on Twemlow Lane at Holmes Chapel.

This went against the planning officers' recommendation to refuse the proposal.

Council officers then said, because this was a 'significant departure from policy', the application would have to be considered again, this time by the strategic planning board.

Southern planning committee members argued against this, saying that took away their committee's powers to make a decision.

They also disagreed it was a 'significant' departure from policy.

But now it has been announced the southern planning committee's decision to approve the application will stand and the zoo can be located at The Orchards Farm.

Ward councillor Russell Chadwick (Con) told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that common sense had prevailed.

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"It's a fabulous result for Melissa and Ben at Zoo2U," he said.

"It's been two years of hard work and common sense has prevailed.

"It's good for our rural community that Bidlea Dairy now has got the ability to have a strong financial footing going forward, along with Zoo2U, and I'm over the moon with the result."

The council's planning officers, who had turned down the scheme themselves in March of last year, had recommended refusal again on the grounds the development would result in encroachment into the open countryside through development of open land and it would remove the existing open character and appearance of the site from the surrounding area.

The scheme would have been decided by officers again under delegated authority if Cllr Chadwick had not called it in to be considered by the southern planning committee.

At that meeting on Wednesday, committee vice chair Andrew Kolker (Dane Valley, Con) had said: "To be brutally honest, I can't think of a better place to put a zoo like this."

The rest of the committee agreed with him.