BOROUGH chiefs are hopeful that new guidelines will help developers maintain a high standard for housing schemes.

With around 1,950 new homes expected to be built in Middlewich as part of Cheshire East Council’s local plan, the authority has adopted a residential design guide to set a benchmark for development.

The guide is intended to ensure all new developments reflect local distinctiveness and characteristics, including the type of materials and natural features they have, and it will sit alongside other planning documents and the emerging local plan.

Cllr Mike Parsons, CEC ward member for Middlewich, believes that the guidelines haven’t gone far enough.

He said: “I think we need to relook at the whole thing, whilst new guidelines are welcome, there needs to be more done.

“In other countries, we are behind. If you look at countries like Denmark for instance, their housing is far in excess of anything we do over here.

“We are one of the only countries that seem to be building boxes as quick as possible.

“We need to look at the whole aspect of the how and where and why we are building these houses.”

Under the guidelines, all new developments will be required to meet acceptable design standards to create high-quality, well-designed places.

The recommendations are tailored for urban and rural areas across east Cheshire, and follow an eight-week consultation which took place last year, and involved 12,000 people.

Frank Jordan, and executive director at Cheshire East Council said: “This design guide will help to set a benchmark for quality and a ‘sense of place’.

“While we want to see more imaginative developments that are pleasing to the eye, we would like to see designs that reflect the characteristics of the town, village and community in which they are situated.

“Where development is not of the requisite quality, then the design guide, in support of local plan policy, provides justification to refuse permission as part of the planning balance.

“The guide will form an important part of a toolkit of measures aimed at assisting designers and developers to better understand the character of the borough and to deliver high-quality new development in the future.”

The guide, which also makes recommendations on waste and recycling provision, can be found at cheshireeast.gov.uk/planning.