Homeowners living on a new build housing estate face losing their homes after it was built without proper planning permission.
The 263 newly built housing estate in Crewe, Cheshire, could be torn down and its residents face losing their homes as they wait to learn their fate later this month.
Property developer Countryside Partnerships was initially granted permission to build Copperhall Place, located on the site of the former Crewe Works, in 2018.
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However, despite the homes already being built, the developer lost permission after it failed to deal with an issue relating to contaminated land.
Cheshire East’s strategic planning board deferred the application for a review assessment due to the issue, back in March.
The local authority is expected to deal with the application in September, over five months after it was deferred.
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It will make a decision on the 263-home estate and discuss the next steps for its residents – with the next strategic planning board due to be held on September 20th.
A spokesperson for Cheshire East Council said: “Over the last few months, council officers have worked closely with the developers of Copperhall place to ensure that each reason for the application being deferred is addressed, and so that strategic planning board members have all the necessary information once the application is presented back to them.
“It is currently expected that the application will be presented back to the strategic planning board in September.”
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Cheshire East Council came under criticism in the House of Commons this week, as MP Penny Mordaunt blasted it as a ‘disgraceful situation’.
She continued: “How on earth does a local authority enable and watch homes being built, in the full knowledge that they have not been through the systems in its planning department?”
“This is a disgraceful situation, and the developer and the local authority need to step up and deliver on their moral obligations to the individuals who bought those homes in good faith,” she added.