Gipsy site gets approval

The plans to build nine pitches, a permanent warden’s pitch and the conversion of English Heritage listed building Cledford Hall barns into wash facilities, have all been approved after they were first submitted by Cheshire East Council in January.

The Cheshire East Council Strategic Planning Board voted on the application on Wednesday, April 15, with nine members voting in favour, one abstention, and just one member, Cllr Paul Edwards, who is a ward member for Middlewich and current town mayor, voting against. 

Cllr Edwards, who recently announced he would not stand for re-election, made what the chairman described as an ‘inappropriate comment when he accused the board of having ulterior motives saying ‘you’re just pushing through applications to suit yourselves once again.’ 

Cllr Mike Parsons, Middlewich First councillor and also a ward member for Middlewich, spoke at the meeting in objection, comparing the application to a murder trial and saying that it ‘should be put on death row.’

Cllr Parsons said: “What is interesting is the highways report has not been put before anybody. It makes you think that it’s not being made available for a reason.

“All I would say is that if you were a jury for a murder trial it wouldn’t stand a chance. It would be put on death row and that is where this application should be.”

Cllr Edwards argued that the site was not sustainable, being far away from basic amenities, and said that if it were a housing application, it would be a basic rejection. 

Planning Officer Paul Wakefield agreed but said that the Cledford Lane site was the only option.
Mr Wakefield said: “The location is not sustainable but it’s the only site we have. It is where it is and there’s nothing more we can do on that.”

But despite the officer admitting that the location was not sustainable – a reason that is often used for rejection by the planning board – nine councillors still voted in favour.