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Planning Application APP/2003/1643
Sandiway Cottage -
Chester Road
This is the beautiful half-timbered
house on the left of Chester Road as you enter the village from the Winsford
direction. It is noted for the glorious display of spring flowers amongst the
trees that surround the property. It is thought to date from before 1830 and is
one of the oldest surviving buildings in the village, adding a tremendous amount
of character to the area.
You may be aware that, after a long fight to
preserve one of the oldest buildings in Hartford, Vale Royal Borough Council
have finally granted planning permission for houses to be built at Sandiway
Cottage. It was originally built around 1780 and was probably a hunting lodge
for an owner who wished to ride with the Cheshire Forest hunt (whose stables
were at Sandiway) - however, this is not certain.
The original plans involved the demolition
of this historic house and its replacement with blocks of flats and modern
houses. This was vigorously opposed by the Society in conjunction with the
Parish Council, our elected officials and VRBC. This resulted in the application
being refused and a subsequent appeal by the developer against the VRBC
decision. Despite total opposition from all the local bodies the Central
Government Inspector granted permission for the development to take place.
However during this process important
concessions were achieved that ensured the survival of the main house and
preserved a large number of the trees on the site.
Subsequently the original developer sold on
the site to Hillcrest Homes who have taken a much more sympathetic approach to
the development.
They met with the Society and the Parish
Council on site and took on board various suggestions with regard to the
landscaping of the site and the preservation of the masses of spring bulbs at
the front of the house. It is good to see a developer that is willing to engage
with the local community.
Hillcrest will be preserving the majority of
Sandiway Cottage. Some later extensions to the rear of the property will be
removed and replaced by a modern extension in the style of the original
building. This will house a number of flats. The frontage of the building will
be preserved and the view from the road will remain substantially unchanged. The
outbuildings at the rear of the house will be demolished as the older ones are
in a dangerous condition and the modern ones of no intrinsic value.
There will be a block of flats and modern
semi-detached and detached houses built behind the Cottage and screened by the
main house and landscaping. A third of the 36 houses and flats will be
affordable housing.
This approach will preserve the character
and amenity value of Sandiway Cottage as seen from Chester Road as there will be
no parking for cars in front of the Cottage and the spring bulbs and the
landscaping in front of the house will be retained. Indeed, Hillcrest intend to
replace the front fencing with Cheshire railings so that the house will be more
visible.
The ongoing viability of these older
properties is a difficult area. They must be used in order to sustain their
existence or they will be lost to future generations. Too many properties are
allowed to fall into disrepair and fall prey to persistent vandalism -
eventually being demolished “because they are dangerous”.
It still can not be said that there is a
need for additional housing in Hartford but the proposed Hillcrest development
represents the best solution for the village given that central government have
insisted that it can take place.
It is also a creditable result for the
Society in influencing the debate and the final outcome in order to preserve the
best of the village.
History of the Development Proposals
October 2003 - The original
application was submitted by Morris Developments Ltd to demolish Sandiway
Cottage and to erect two blocks of sixteen flats and sixteen detached houses. It
is notable that the plan included an access to the fields at the back of the
property for "possible future access" - this land is currently Green Belt and
not allocated for housing use but indicates the developers hope that this could
be changed in the future, leading to yet another major development in Hartford.
November 2003 - The developer
presented amended plans, together with corrected site location and revised
proposed development details. The revised proposed development still included
demolition of Sandiway Cottage but replaced the two blocks of flats and sixteen
houses with a larger number of houses. The application was now for "The
principle only of housing development and means of vehicular access with matters
relating to siting, design, external appearance and landscaping reserved"
February 2004 - The Council
considered the proposal which was opposed by the Parish Council and the Civic
Society. The recommendation from the VRBC Planning Department was for rejection. The Council
Planning Committee's unanimous decision was "Full application refusal"
April 2004 - Morris
Developments Ltd appealed to the Secretary of State for the Environment,
Transport and the Regions against the refusal by VRBC to grant planning
permission.
January 2005 -
The Inquiry was
held on the 19th January at 10.00am at Wyvern House, The Drumber, Winsford. Persons interested in the appeal
could,
if they wished, attend the inquiry and, at the Inspector's discretion, state their
case, either in person or through a representative.
The enquiry was extended to a second day, held at
the Northwich Memorial Hall with an accompanied visit to site by the Inspector
on the 21st January.
The developers, on the
first day of the inquiry, offered a unilateral agreement to retain Sandiway
Cottage and to preserve a number of the mature trees on the site. At this point
it is not clear how cast iron this agreement would be but it would still result
in the loss of 45 trees from the site.
They are now proposing to
build approximately 37 houses and apartments within the grounds of the main house; 30% of
which would be affordable housing. The Cottage would be renovated and extended
to create a block of ten two-bedroom apartments, with the front aspect retained.
There would also be a block of twelve "affordable" two bedroom apartments, a
block of five mews properties and ten individual four-bedroom houses. As this is
an application for permission in principle, the details of the actual properties
(should the inquiry uphold the appeal) could of course change before a detailed
plan is presented to the Council.
Over two days of
evidence and cross examination many aspects were covered, but there was one
primary matter. VRBC defended the decision to refuse permission by asserting
that there was already an oversupply of houses in the Borough and that windfall
building was a threat to the Northwich Vision regeneration plan, whereas the
developers sought to refute the oversupply and to say that the houses were
needed.
Vale Royal Borough
Council have, regardless of the outcome of the inquiry, issued a Tree Preservation Order to cover many, but not all, of the
trees on the site.
The Civic Society remains
totally opposed to
this development and fully supports VRBC's decision to refuse permission.
It is our belief that
the developers are seeking to exploit a window in the timing of the planning
cycle - i.e. to claim that the current Local Plan has been overtaken by events
and new planning guidance, and that as newer documents have not yet been issued
they cannot be relied upon.
The Civic Society
and the Parish Council, together with local residents and Councillor Keith
Musgrave spoke against the proposal at the public inquiry. It is our
understanding that Mike Hall MP has written to the Inspectorate to express his
opposition.
February 2005
-The Inspector indicated that she expected to issue her decision week
commencing 28th February.
March 2005 -
The Inspector granted the appeal and permission was given in principle
to build on the Sandiway Cottage site. The full decision can be read as a pdf
file below. The basis of the Inspector's decision seems to be that she believed
the appellant's case that there will be an undersupply of housing in Vale Royal
after 2006 - a position disputed by VRBC. Quite how this stacks up against the
decision to disallow the Winnington Urban Village because it was premature (i.e.
the houses were not required yet) is difficult for the man in the street to
rationalise. There is a great danger that this decision will open the floodgates
to further applications for infilling that will destroy the open spaces within
the village. There are already two proposals to build in the grounds of listed
buildings within the village.
As there is no
effective appeal against the decision we can only hope to apply some
constraint to the detailed planning application when it is submitted. It is
essential to try and preserve as much of the character of the Cottage and its
setting as possible.
July 2005 - Hillcrest Homes acquired Sandiway Cottage for development.
September 2005 -
A full planning application was lodged by Hillcrest Homes for the
development of Sandiway Cottage. It proposed 36 new dwellings, two and three
storey. The Application Number is 05-1542-FUM
The
plans represent a more considerate treatment of the Cottage itself with the
whole frontage retained and all parking to the rear of the property. Some of the
rear extension will be demolished and there will be a new block of apartments
behind the current house.
In
addition there will be detached and semi-detached houses which, having dormer
roofs, are effectively three stories high. These are out of character with the
surrounding properties.
November 2005 - The proposed development by Hillcrest Homes was discussed at
the Planning Committee meeting on Tuesday 15th November. A number of concerns
were expressed by members and the decision of the Committee was to defer a
decision until after the Committee members had had a chance to visit the site.
December 2005 - VRBC granted planning permission to Hillcrest Homes to build
36 properties on the site.
April 2006 - Final planning permission granted subject to an S106 Legal
Agreement.
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