Councillors approved 240 homes off Dunkirk Way 10 to 0, and up to 86 at Green Lane Farm, Kelsall, 6 to 3. The Lostock Gralam biogas expansion passed unanimously.

Cheshire West and Chester’s Planning Committee approved all three big schemes in front of it on 6 October. They are 240 homes in Great Sutton, up to 86 homes at Kelsall and a larger food waste plant at Lostock Gralam, near Northwich.

The decisions only became public record on 23 October, when the council published the printed minutes. Until then the outcome was on the webcast alone, and the council’s planning register has been returning errors for most of October.

Scheme Reference Vote Result
240 homes, land north of Dunkirk Way, Great Sutton 23/03825/FUL 10 for, 0 against, 1 abstention Approved
Up to 86 homes, Green Lane Farm, Kelsall 24/03791/OUT 6 for, 3 against, 1 abstention Approved
Northwich Biogas expansion, Griffiths Road, Lostock Gralam 26/01251/FUL Unanimous Approved

We set out what each scheme involves in our preview before the meeting.

Great Sutton: approved after a month’s delay

The 240 homes by Wain Homes North West had been deferred on 1 September over traffic. This time members again asked whether the roads around Dunkirk Way could cope.

Officers said the applicant’s highways engineers had modelled the impact, and the council’s own highways team was satisfied. According to the minutes, the off-site work paid for through the section 106 agreement will be:

  • an additional lane, close to the Costco site
  • pedestrian crossings
  • two bus stops

The minutes say these works will be delivered before building starts on the homes.

Members also asked for solar panels, heat pumps and triple glazing. Officers said there is no policy yet that would let the council require them. The new Local Plan, now being drawn up, could set standards above building regulations, they said.

The officer’s report put the developer’s payments at £2,225,857. That covers education, open space and sport, the Gates Lane junction and healthcare, plus at least 24 affordable homes on site. Our preview has the full breakdown.

Kelsall: approved on a split vote

The outline scheme at Green Lane Farm, about eight miles east of Chester, drew the closest vote of the night. One councillor left the meeting before the item, so ten voted.

Kelsall Parish Council spoke against it, and so did an agent acting for objectors. The ward councillor who called it in, Ted Lush, was represented at the meeting by fellow ward member Tom Cooper.

Members raised two points:

  • The housing mix and affordable homes. Officers said the exact mix comes at the reserved matters stage, and that changes to national policy limit how far the council can insist on a particular mix. The officer’s report puts the affordable share at 30%.
  • School places. The council’s education team expects demand for primary and special educational needs places that local schools cannot take. A payment will be required, and the council will recalculate it once the final number of homes is known.

The site is outside Kelsall’s settlement boundary and conflicts with parts of the Kelsall and Willington Neighbourhood Plan. Officers’ case rested on the council’s housing land supply, which is below five years.

Lostock Gralam: lorry cap stays

The expansion of the anaerobic digestion plant on Griffiths Road, about 2km east of Northwich town centre, passed without a vote against.

Members questioned how the plant could take more waste without more lorries. Officers said the site must stay within its existing cap on lorry movements, and any increase would need a new planning application. Delivery routes are fixed by a condition, and a sign at Lostock Works tells lorry drivers to turn right only, away from a low bridge.

A condition will also require operational noise, with mitigation, not to exceed background sound levels.

What it means for you

  • Great Sutton and Ledsham: the junction and crossing works come before the homes, so the first disruption is likely to be on the road, not the site. Watch our roadworks page for dates.
  • Kelsall: this is an outline permission. Layout, house types and the final number of homes come back in a reserved matters application, and you can comment on that too.
  • Lostock Gralam and Rudheath: if you see lorries using Middlewich Road, the route is set by planning condition, so report it to the council’s planning enforcement team.

The next Planning Committee is on 3 November, when councillors decide 90 homes on Green Belt land at Guilden Sutton. For other schemes near you, see our Chester planning news page.