Councillors unanimously deferred up to 90 homes at Guilden Sutton on 3 November and sent officers back to talk to the developer about links to the Greenway.

Councillors have put off a decision on up to 90 homes on Green Belt farmland at Guilden Sutton. They voted unanimously on Tuesday to send planning officers back to talk to the developer about cycling and walking links.

The Planning Committee met on 3 November, and the vote is on its webcast. No minutes have been published yet, and the planning register (ref 26/00830/OUT) still shows the application as awaiting a decision.

Officers had recommended approval on the basis that the field counts as “grey belt”. The application from Beck Homes drew more than 120 objections.

Why they deferred it

The sticking point was the link to the Millennium Greenway, the walking and cycling route built on an old railway line.

Cllr Chris Copeman first proposed refusing the application, telling the committee a connection to the Greenway “would be an easy win”. Cllr Copeman called the missing link a glaring omission for a village only four miles from Chester.

Cllr Copeman also read out objections from the Chester Cycling Campaign. The group says riders must use School Lane or Station Lane to reach the Greenway, with no dedicated cycling route. It calls that unsafe for children, disabled people, families and less confident cyclists.

Officers said the council’s highways advisers had not identified a need for the developer to pay for that link. Cllr Gina Lewis, who chaired the meeting, said the report’s planning balance was weighted against refusal, and that refusing could prove expensive for the council.

Councillors then looked at changing the planning conditions instead. Officers advised against it. They said those conditions cover land inside the site, while a link would depend on other land where the rights have not been established. There was too much uncertainty about ownership, permissions, surfaces and widening to impose a condition.

Officers suggested deferral as the way to explore it. Cllr Copeman withdrew the refusal motion and moved to defer, seconded by Cllr Olwyn Dean. The vote was announced as unanimous.

What officers will now do

Officers will go back to the developer to discuss the issues raised, including:

  • improving restricted byway 1 between the site and the Greenway
  • the rest of the route to the Greenway, as councillors said School Lane and Station Lane also matter
  • the opportunities for links between the site and the Greenway more widely

Cllr Gaynor Sinar also questioned whether the tests for protected wildlife had been met, as Natural England had not commented. Officers said the legal test is whether a licence is likely to be granted, and that the council’s ecologists had applied it.

What it means for you

The application is not refused and it is not approved. It will come back to the committee, but no date has been announced.

Nothing has changed on the rest of the scheme. The homes would still be 45% affordable, and only the access is fixed at this outline stage.

Residents can read the officer’s report and the meeting’s papers, and can watch the debate on the webcast.