Having attended the Cheshire East Strategic Planning Board this afternoon I am delighted to announce that the planning application for 900 houses was UNANIMOUSLY REFUSED. This is a significant battle to have won, although we are still a long way from the finish. Haddon have already moved the application on to appeal, but a unanimous refusal is a strong statement, and it was reiterated by the Councillors that there must be robust reasoning behind this and that the officers have to ensure all key aspects are covered.
I would like to thank all of the Committee although especially the Vice Chairman Andy Bailey who spoke against the application today, and also John Cornell from the Parish Council whose passionate speeches helped to win the day. Many thanks also to Councillor Steve Edgar who spoke on behalf of Janet Clowes.
I must also thank those residents who came along to support the piece that North West Tonight are running, which should be hitting our screens at 18:30 tonight on BBC1, and hopefully includes interviews with myself and other residents.
The next key decision point for us is related to the S106 Variation that Haddon have applied for and I am optimistic that Cheshire East will be refusing this shortly too.
There is still a lot of work to do in fighting the application, and the next major event is the resumption of the Local Plan Examination in Public and Andy and I will be attending key sessions of that too.
In terms of the appeal enquiry into the specific application for 900 houses, we do not know a date for this as yet, but suspect it may well be in early 2017, and there is lots of evidence gathering to be done before then, although it is still strongly advised that we procure Legal representation for that event, which requires further fund raising.
It is time to reflect in this victory and to move ahead to what will no doubt be bigger battles to come, but we are on a roll.
Many thanks again for all your continued support.
Trevor Sandry – Chairman
Wychwood Community Group 