THE construction of 13 new homes in Leftwich is set to be given the green light following a review by Cheshire West and Chester Council planning officers.

Committee members met to discuss the proposals for a mix of two, three and four-bedroom, two storey houses on a small patch of green space on Dunham Road.

Plans state that 30 per cent of the properties will be ‘affordable housing’, comprising of two social rented units and 2 intermediate units.

And the development looks set to go ahead after officers recommended that it be approved next week.

The application was called in Andrew Cooper, CWAC councillor for Leftwich, due to concerns of over-development at the site, which could cause drainage issues and a loss of privacy for neighbours.

Northwich Town Council also raised concerns over the development, including the impact on drainage and the loss of trees affecting surface water.

Neighbours called for the proposals to be scrapped on the grounds of its impact on street parking, wildlife and noise disturbance.

In his report, case officer Brian Leonard said: “The internal driveway will create some noise and disturbance, however this is not considered an unacceptable detrimental impact on neighbouring properties.

“The level of traffic generated by the development can be absorbed within the surrounding network and is not considered to result in a severe impact on the highway network.

“Concerns have been raised regarding the removal of trees, however after assessment by United Utilities and the Lead Local Flood Authority, no objections have been raised.”

The case officer did request for s106 agreements totalling just over £40,000 to be in place for education and open space provisions before the development takes place.

This includes provisions for allotments, parks and recreation and to accommodate young people living at the development attending high school.

The catchment high school for the development is identified as County High School, which at present has zero surplus places.

A concern was also highlighted over limited tree replanting, however compared with the short-term benefits of construction jobs and affordable housing, this was not considered ‘sufficient to warrant refusal’.