68-bed Handforth care home recommended for approval after planners change stance
Plans for a care home on Green Belt land in Handforth are heading back to councillors with a recommendation for approval, months after planning officers had advised that the develo
By Cheshire Live
Plans for a 68-bed care home on Green Belt land in Handforth are being recommended for approval after Cheshire East planning officers changed their position on the development.
Wrightcare Developments and Deansgate M5 want to build the care home on a 1.07-hectare site off Sagars Road.
The proposal is due to go before Cheshire East Council’s northern planning committee on Wednesday, August 19, when councillors will decide whether permission should be granted.
An earlier version of the scheme proposed a 76-bed care home and was due to be considered by the committee in January.
At that stage, planning officers had recommended that councillors refuse the application.
The item was subsequently withdrawn from the January meeting and the proposals have since been revised, reducing the number of bedrooms from 76 to 68.
The latest officer report now recommends that councillors approve the development.
The site is within the Green Belt, meaning development would normally be subject to significant planning restrictions.
However, the officer assessment concludes that the circumstances of this particular proposal justify allowing the care home to proceed.
Among the factors considered is an identified unmet need for care accommodation in the area, including specialist dementia provision.
The report also considers the site’s physical characteristics and its status as grey belt land, alongside the contribution the development would make towards the council’s housing land supply.
Employment created by the care home is another factor cited in support of the application.
Planning officers conclude that, when these considerations are weighed together, they outweigh the harm the development would cause to the Green Belt.
The recommendation does not mean planning permission has been granted.
The final decision rests with members of the northern planning committee when they consider the application next week.
There remains local opposition to the development.
Handforth Town Council has said it strongly recommends that the application be refused.
Councillors will therefore have to weigh the planning officers’ revised assessment and the stated need for specialist care accommodation against concerns about development on the Green Belt.
The northern planning committee is scheduled to meet at Macclesfield Town Hall at 10.30am on Wednesday, August 19.