RESIDENTS are being assured the construction of housing in Hartford will be strictly controlled.

The assurance was given by planning officer Rob Charnley during a discussion on Redrow Homes North West’s plans for 134 houses on land south of Greenbank Wood, School Lane.

The site is at the end of Douglas Close, and forms part of a larger area granted outline planning permission for up to 350 houses.

The scheme for 350 houses, with a new access onto School Lane, was refused by Cheshire West and Chester Council but allowed at appeal.

The reserved matters application for 134 houses was approved on Thursday by the Strategic Planning Committee, having been ‘called in’ by Clr Musgrave over highways issues and its impact on neighbours.

The application sparked concern from Hartford Parish Council and residents, the council calling for egress and access to be via the proposed School Lane entrance of the development, and consideration to be given to safety regarding the access point, both in its design and management.

Eight residents objected to the application, claiming the traffic created by 350 houses would cause chaos on surrounding roads, only 50 houses must be accessed from Douglas Close and construction traffic must not be allowed to use the Douglas Close entrance.

Mr Charnley said the council had agreed with Redrow a construction management plan, which would be going out to residents, which would control the number of HGVs and would ensure a temporary access was put in place on School Lane to make sure that was the main route for traffic for the majority of the development.

He added: “There will be some construction traffic down Douglas Close to start with - but again we have a limit on those numbers - we have a limit on the time period - and again with a move to get that temporary construction access onto School Lane.”

A Redrow representative said the company understood the sensitivity of the development, and was seeking to work with neighbours surrounding the development to allow for effective communication and updates on building work to avoid areas of conflict.