Sandbach Heath councillor, Sam Corcoran, says there are three reaons why he's opposing the Bloor Home plan on land either side of The Hill in Sandbach and opposite Leonard Cheshire's Hill House.

He says Sandbach is still recovering from the flood of speculative housing applications on greenfield sites from 10 years ago.

"Sandbach has grown by 40 per cent in the last 10 years and the infrastructure (doctors, dentists, primary schools and roads) need to be improved before more houses are built," said Cllr Corcoran.

"The sites are not in the Local Plan for development. The sites were considered and rejected when the Local Plan was being considered."

Cllr Sam Corcoran. (Photo: Cheshire East)

Cllr Corcoran says in the case of the land around the Leonard Cheshire home, there was a previous application ref 14/1946C  refused by Cheshire East Council and refused on appeal. 

He added: "I have learned that it is best to engage with the application process so that if the application is approved then the community gains something, so I am also looking at what infrastructure should be asked for - including a crossing at the top of The Hill.

"I have warned the campaigners against the housing applications that there will be people wanting to use the campaign to promote themselves and their prejudices and their own agendas.

"Running a successful campaign will be hard work and will need help from many groups - infighting will distract from the objectives and damage the campaign." 

Cllr Corcoran says he believes the cause of this speculative planning application on greenfield sites is the government's new housing targets.

"The target for Cheshire East more than doubled from 977 to 2461 dwellings a year," he said. "This means that Cheshire East does not have a five-year housing land supply.

"However, if the Adlington new town proposals are included then Cheshire East would have a five-year housing land supply."

"I am confident that if Cheshire East can demonstrate a robust five-year housing land supply then the Bloor Homes application will be refused because it is not in accordance with the Cheshire East Local Plan or the Sandbach Neighbourhood Plan. 

"In July 2025, Cheshire East Council unanimously approved a resolution calling on the government to grant a period of grace for Cheshire East Council to prepare a new local plan so that we could decide where the extra houses should go, rather than developers picking and choosing the sites that would make them the most money."

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