A Sandbach Heath councillor has slammed plans for 325 homes either side of The Hill in Sandbach as "an aggressive, speculative" application on greenfield sites outside of the settlement zone of the town.

Bloor Homes has submitted plans to build 325 dwellings on either side of The Hill by Leonard Cheshire Home which have been met with uproar from residents.

A public meeting was held recently at Sandbach Town Hall to discuss the plans which can be viewed here and now Councillor Sam Corcoran, former leader of Cheshire East, has submitted a 'call in' of the application.

This means that the application should be discussed at the Cheshire East Strategic Planning Board rather than being determined solely by a council planning officer.

The plans are an outline application, with all matters reserved except for access, for development comprising up to 325 residential dwellings (Use Class C3), creation of a community park located between Manor Road and the A533 The Hill and other open space and landscaping, associated infrastructure, including earthworks and drainage

Cllr Sam Corcoran. (Photo: Cheshire East)

Cllr Corcoran said: "When the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was launched in 2012, Sandbach was a town of 8,000 dwellings.

"Then 3,200 new dwellings were granted planning permission, mainly through unplanned speculative applications on greenfield sites.

"Some of those housing developments are still being built out 10 years later. Unsurprisingly, the local infrastructure is struggling to cope with a 40 per cent increase in the number of dwellings.

"The Sandbach Neighbourhood Development Plan (2022) states: "There is an overwhelming desire to preserve existing farmland, publicly accessible open spaces and green spaces surrounding the town and seeks to protect and enhance the open countryside setting of Sandbach (page 30).

Sandbach Heath and East is one of one of four wards in the town. (Photo: Nub News)

"The application is outside the settlement boundary in the Sandbach Neighbourhood Development Plan (2022) and the Cheshire East Local Plan."

Cllr Corcoran has described the plan as "an aggressive, speculative application on greenfield sites outside of the settlement zone of Sandbach".

He said: "When the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was launched in 2012, Sandbach was a town of 8,000 dwellings.

"Then 3,200 new dwellings were granted planning permission, mainly through unplanned speculative applications on greenfield sites.

"Some of those housing developments are still being built out 10 years later. Unsurprisingly, the local infrastructure is struggling to cope with a 40 per increase in the number of dwellings."

He added: "The application is in breach of policy PC3 of the Sandbach Neighbourhood Development Plan (2022) and policy PG6 of the Cheshire East Local Plan.

"The application covers Gateway G4 marked in Fig 3 of the Sandbach Neighbourhood Development Plan (2022). As such the application does not accord with policy PC2 protecting the landscape character of Sandbach."

Residents have until February 27th to make objections on planning grounds.

Sandbach Nub News has approached Cheshire East Council for a comment.

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