Plans have been submitted for a 70-home estate in the open countryside on land off Warmingham Lane at Moston near Middlewich.

David Hardman has applied for full planning permission on a 7.58-hectare site, although planning documents say the actual area proposed for development comprises 2.96 hectares.

The proposal is for eight one-bed apartments; six two-bed semi-detached bungalows; 24 two-bed mews dwellings; eight three-bed mews; 18 three-bed detached houses and six four-bedroom detached homes.

Twenty-one of the properties would be affordable housing.

The site is west of Warmingham Lane and currently comprises grazing land with some biodiversity offsetting for the nearby Bellway Homes development, including the creation of several ponds and associated planting.

Warmingham Lane, Moston 70 Homes Application Site (Google) The application site for the residential development off Warmingham Lane at Moston (Google)

A planning statement, from Goodwin Planning Services, says: "The site includes the field, the access onto Warmingham Lane, and a strip of land along Warmingham Lane to the north to provide a proposed footpath connection to the edge of the Seddon affordable housing development for the Halton Housing Trust which currently marks the edge of the settlement immediately to the north."

Access will be from Warmingham Lane.

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The planning documents says this will initially be in the form of a 'T' junction, but with land reserved for a roundabout should the access road be required to form part of the Middlewich Bypass.

It adds: "The proposal also includes substantial areas of open space – formal and informal, landscaping and ecological enhancement areas."

The applicant acknowledges the site is in the open countryside and conflicts with planning policy.

But the statement says: "There are material considerations in this case which outweigh the limited conflict with the locational/settlement boundaries of the plan, which are now out of date.

"Of most weight is the fact that the presumption in favour of sustainable development is engaged due to the council's inability to be able to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply."

It adds: "The proposal provides a range of benefits including providing much needed dwellings and affordable housing, a stronger urban edge through the provision of the access road which will also provide part of the future bypass and short and long-term economic benefits to the area."

The application, number 26/0982/FUL, can be viewed on the planning portal on Cheshire East Council's website.

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