MORE than 250 homes could eventually be built in Middlewich as part of a neighbouring council’s strategy to meet its housing quota.

Furious Middlewich chiefs say they will face ‘all the pressures and receive none of the benefits’ if a massive estate is built on land to the south of Holmes Chapel Road.

Residents are also angry that they have been ‘kept in the dark’ over Cheshire West and Chester (CWAC) Council’s plan to identify new land for housing projects in the next 15 years.

Plans to build 258 homes on land owned by Pochin Developments near Sproston is included in CWAC’s ‘Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment’ because it just crosses over the Cheshire East border.

But Clr Paul Edwards told the Guardian that Middlewich Town Council has not been informed.

“It’s a terrible indictment on the planning department,” he said.

“We’re disappointed with the lack of consultation about what’s going on and with the way they treat local members.

“I think they have kept us in the dark to avoid objections yet its our infrastructure and schools that will come under pressure.

“The hold-ups in Holmes Chapel Road are bad enough as it is.”

Clr Edwards also pointed out that any ‘section 106’ agreement to provide community benefits would not go to Middlewich as it is not in Cheshire West.

But a CWAC spokesman said: “The council has been approached and asked that the site be considered for development in the future.

“This isn’t a formal planning allocation and in planning policy terms the site lies within the ‘open countryside’ where local planning policies seek to prevent new housing development.

“National planning policy asks councils to maintain a five-year forward supply of housing development land and there is a shortfall currently because of the slowdown of development generally as a result of the difficult economic conditions.

”The lack of a five-year supply, however, doesn’t automatically override all other planning considerations."

Holmes Chapel resident Andrew Ramshall added: “It would seem to me that property which is affected by such proposals should be notified at the earliest stage - not left in the dark about developments on your doorstep.

“Members of the public are not always scanning the papers or the web for planning proposals which may affect them, we rely on the council to communicate directly with us which does not seem to be happening.

“This is particularly relevant in this location which borders Cheshire East and West.”

A landfill site has also been given permission to operate at nearby Kinderton Lodge Farm.

Frances Cowper, of Holmes Chapel Road, said: “I can’t see how they can do it. The site is next to a substation, a pylon and potentially a tip.

“It sounds like Nightmare on Elm Street.”

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A PROPERTY boss says long-term plans to build 258 homes will help achieve growth in Middlewich.

Brian Reay, property director for Pochin Developments, said: “Our primary objective is to bring new jobs to Middlewich through the development of the Midpoint 18 business park.

“Proposing residential development on this site at the boundary of Midpoint 18 could be considered if it is seen as beneficial to the Middlewich vision of the future which we are discussing with Middlewich Town Council and Cheshire East Council.

“It is a quirk of the boundary between Cheshire East and Cheshire West that this proposal is being considered by the SHLAA in Cheshire West.

“This is a long term proposal which will be pursued with both councils to achieve the optimum plan for growth in Middlewich.”