The board approved both schemes on 16 September: 125 Bellway homes off Cumber Lane and 168 off Dean Row Road, 30% affordable. What comes next.
Both housing schemes on the edge of Wilmslow have been approved. Cheshire East’s Strategic Planning Board granted permission for 125 homes on land off Cumber Lane and 168 homes on land at Dean Row Road at its meeting on 16 September. That is 293 homes between them.
The decisions are confirmed in the minutes of the meeting, published on 24 September. The minutes do not record how councillors voted.
Both sites were set aside in the 2017 Local Plan for development after 2030. Officers recommended approval under the rewritten national planning rules, because the borough has a 3.3-year housing supply against the five years it should have. We set out the case for and against both schemes before the meeting.
What was approved
Land off Cumber Lane (25/1573/FUL) is a Bellway Homes scheme for 125 homes on farmland south of Leigh Road, on Wilmslow’s western edge. Part of the site lies on peat, and that was the main ground of objection.
Land at Dean Row Road (25/2071/FUL) is a Jones Homes and Taylor Wimpey scheme for 168 homes on fields bordered by Dean Row Road, Cross Lane and Browns Lane. The board had deferred it in July after a motion to approve was lost (minutes, 22 July 2026). This time it was approved.
Several people spoke before each decision. On Cumber Lane they included the ward councillor, Wilmslow Town Council, the adjacent ward councillor, an objector and two agents for the applicant. On Dean Row Road they included the ward councillor, the town council, the adjacent ward councillor, an objector and the applicant’s agent.
The conditions that matter to neighbours
The minutes list 37 conditions on Cumber Lane and 39 on Dean Row Road. Most are standard. These are the ones residents are most likely to notice.
Cumber Lane:
- building must follow a Peat Management Plan
- the neighbouring dog kennels must stop operating before anyone moves in
- no walls or fences can go up without permission on plots along the Leigh Road boundary
- a construction management plan must be approved first
- nothing on site, cranes included, may exceed 15 metres
- no reflective materials, including solar panels, may be added to the buildings
- a bird hazard management plan and a flight safety construction plan are required
- air source heat pumps must be fitted
- work must start within three years
Dean Row Road:
- work must start within two years, a year shorter than the standard three; the builders agreed to this after the July deferral
- the emergency access and cycle connection must be built before plots 143 to 171 are occupied
- the drainage scheme must keep the retained pond supplied with water
- the existing water main must be protected during building
- the same 15 metre height limit on buildings and cranes applies
- solar panels need a glint and glare assessment first, and must be bird-proofed
- an arboricultural clerk of works must be appointed to oversee tree protection
Several of these, the height cap, the lighting rules and the bird hazard plans, appear on both approvals. Both sites are a few miles from Manchester Airport. The minutes do not state a reason for each condition.
The money
Both approvals come with a legal agreement, known as a section 106, which the council and developers still have to sign. Permission is formally issued once it is. The minutes set out what it must secure:
| Cumber Lane | Dean Row Road | |
|---|---|---|
| Education | £733,186 | £1,329,779.24 for a new school, or £930,791 for an expansion |
| Affordable homes | 30% of all homes | 30% of all homes |
| Indoor sport | £22,342.78 | £30,028.69 |
| Outdoor sport | £1,500 per family home, £750 per apartment bed space | same |
| Allotments | £562.50 per family home, £281.25 per apartment | same |
The officer reports put 30% at 38 affordable homes at Cumber Lane and 51 at Dean Row Road (Cumber Lane report, Dean Row Road report).
There is no money for GP surgeries in either agreement. The local NHS board had asked for £113,000 from Cumber Lane and £151,704 from Dean Row Road. Officers said neither request could be required, citing two recent appeal decisions in Sandbach.
Councillors want to keep three planning committees
The same meeting looked at the national planning changes that take effect on 31 October, when councillors lose the right to call applications in to committee. The board asked the council’s Constitution Committee to keep all three of its planning committees: Northern, Southern and the Strategic Planning Board. The minutes say this is to make sure local knowledge is part of each decision.
The board also asked for applications already called in by councillors to be decided before 31 October wherever possible. The Constitution Committee meets on 2 October.
What it means for you
- If you live near either site: the decision is made. There is no right of appeal for objectors. A legal challenge to a planning decision is possible only through judicial review in the High Court, on the lawfulness of how it was made, and must be brought within six weeks of the decision notice.
- When building could start: not until the section 106 is signed and the pre-start conditions are cleared. Dean Row Road must start within two years of permission being issued, Cumber Lane within three.
- If you are hoping for an affordable home: 89 are planned across the two sites, based on the officer reports.
Both applications, and the conditions once permission is issued, will appear on the council’s planning portal under 25/1573/FUL and 25/2071/FUL. For other schemes across the district, see our Macclesfield planning news page and our report on the 200 homes allowed on appeal at Prestbury Road.
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