Nine holiday lodges, a cafe and a shop at Price Poultry Farm in Higher Poynton go to committee on Thursday. Planners back it despite 56 objections.
Planners have recommended approval for nine holiday lodges, a cafe and a shop on green belt land in Higher Poynton. Fifty-six households objected, and so did Poynton Town Council.
The site is Price Poultry Farm, reached by a private track off Green Lane, next to the Anson Engine Museum. Three old storage sheds would be knocked down. Councillors on the Northern Planning Committee decide the application, 26/1101/FUL, on Thursday 29 October. The meeting starts at 10.30am in the Capesthorne Room at Macclesfield Town Hall (agenda, Cheshire East Council).
What is planned
The officer’s report describes (officer report, Cheshire East Council):
- nine detached, single-storey holiday lets in a crescent along an internal road, from one to three bedrooms
- a facilities building with a shop, a cafe, a laundry room and a gym, plus covered outdoor seating
- car parking, mostly on existing hardstanding
- grassland, tree planting and new landscaping across the rest of the site
The applicant’s supporting statement says the shop may be open to the public. The application’s description was changed partway through to add the cafe and shop, and the council consulted again.
The site was a poultry farm from the 1970s. The report says the sheds have been used for general storage for about 20 years. An outline plan for 11 houses on the land was refused in November 2018.
Who objects, and why
Objections came from 56 addresses and support from 11. Councillor Jos Saunders called the application in to committee in April.
The objections most often raised, as the report summarises them:
- Green Lane. Residents describe it as narrow and winding, with blind bends and no footway near the site. Children walk it to school, and it has become a cut-through from the Middlewood level crossing.
- Flooding. Poynton flooded badly in 2016 and 2019. Councillor Saunders said run-off would reach the Park Lane stream, in one of the areas that flooded.
- Green belt. Objectors say the scheme is really a commercial leisure complex in the countryside, and doubt it counts as “grey belt”.
- Holiday use. Some fear the lodges could become permanent homes, avoiding affordable housing and infrastructure payments.
- Wildlife. Residents list badgers, owls, newts, bats and deer, and describe a corridor that red deer use to reach Lyme Park.
- The cafe and shop. Some say Poynton already has enough of both.
Poynton Town Council objects on similar grounds. It also asks for legal limits on occupancy and a compulsory six-week closed period each year.
Supporters say the plan would bring visitors to local businesses such as the Boar’s Head, replace hardstanding with planting, and would be better than a chicken farm. Several say it is led by a family with long-standing ties to Poynton.
Why planners back it
Building in the green belt is normally “inappropriate”. One exception is redeveloping land that has already been built on, as long as it does not cause substantial harm to the green belt’s openness. Officers say this site qualifies, because the sheds are lawfully used for storage.
They compare what is there now with what is planned:
| Existing sheds | Proposed lodges and facilities building | |
|---|---|---|
| Footprint | 1,035 square metres | 730 square metres (29% less) |
| Volume | 2,894 cubic metres | 2,266 cubic metres (22% less) |
The new buildings would be about 50cm taller than the shed ridges. Officers accept that guests and cars would bring more activity than storage does, and that a shop open to the public adds a little more. With only nine units, they judge the harm not to be substantial.
On the other concerns, the report says:
- Roads: highways officers do not object, provided the access is improved to a layout already approved next door.
- Flooding: the site is in flood zone 1, the lowest risk. The flood authority wants more drainage detail, and officers propose a condition that work cannot start until a drainage scheme is approved.
- Neighbours: the nearest homes outside the applicant’s ownership are about 70 metres away.
The conditions proposed
Officers ask the committee to let them grant permission once outstanding highways and ecology information arrives. The ecology point includes whether a ditch on the site is used by otters or water voles. Of the 19 conditions proposed, these answer residents’ points most directly:
- holiday use only for the lodges
- the shop and cafe open 7am to 7pm only
- external lighting approved by the council before it goes up
- no trees removed, and a detailed landscaping scheme
The report does not propose the six-week closed period the town council asked for.
What it means for you
If you want to speak at the meeting, you have to ask in advance. Requests must reach speakingatplanning@cheshireeast.gov.uk by 12 noon the day before, so by midday on Wednesday 28 October. Objectors and supporters get three minutes each, and the town council gets five (public speaking protocol, Cheshire East Council).
Officers often publish late updates, so check the agenda page in the week of the meeting. Part 1 of the meeting is audio recorded and published on the council’s website.
The same committee also decides plans for the former Sunday School on Townley Street, Macclesfield: eight homes, with graves marked on the site. Other decisions are on our planning news page.
Have your say