DEVELOPERS are still surging ahead with plans to build more houses in Middlewich despite the economic downturn.

In the past week Congleton Borough Council has granted approval for a 12-home development for land in Croxton Lane and revised plans for a massive 93-home estate for land off Jersey Way have been revealed.

Middlewich town and Congleton borough councillor Simon McGrory, who sits on the borough council’s planning committee, said: “We have not seen a decline in planning applications for houses, but it will be interesting to see if anything happens at these sites over the next couple of years.

“I think that developers are being speculative and if they do have funds available they are trying to secure what they can.

“People will always want to move house, even now, and to some extent there is a need for houses.

“Having said that Middlewich does have a lot – plenty of which haven’t been sold.”

Developer Russell Homes was originally granted planning permission for an 82-home estate on the brownfield site off Jersey Way in August, but has now managed to squeeze an extra 11 homes on the land and has changed the access point to Holmes Chapel Road instead of the narrow Jersey Way.

Middlewich Town Mayor Paul Edwards is concerned over comments in the planning report that the estate will bring an extra car every minute onto the already congested Holmes Chapel Road during peak times.

“If it takes 50 minutes to get through there, then that is an extra 50 cars on the road,” he said.

“One more car on an already saturated road is one too many.

“Until they get the bypass built it’s going to be a nightmare – the infrastructure can’t cope.”

Clr Edwards has criticised the borough council for its lack of ‘planning’ when granting planning permission.

“It’s just about building, no planning actually goes into planning,” he said.

“The biggest problem for Middlewich will be the traffic because the infrastructure just can’t meet the demands.”

The Jersey Way estate includes provisions for 27 one-bedroom apartments, six two-bedroom houses, 34 three-bedroom houses and 22 four-bedroom houses – 30 per cent of which will be classed as affordable housing.

Clr Edwards added: “If it’s affordable housing then that’s what we need.

“There is plenty of housing in Middlewich, but we still need to get down to the affordable end.

“But the infrastructure needs sorting first.”