The location intended for affordable housing on farmland objectors fought for four years to protect has led to renewed anger.

Homebuilders Redrow have approval for 2,000 houses on land at Ledsham Road, Little Sutton including 145 in a 21 acre first phase.

Councillors are due to hear on Thursday they wish to increase the number to 170 in response to market demand for smaller detached dwellings although the area covered by the new build would be no greater than before.

Forty three of the dwellings would be affordable.

The campaigning Ledsham and Manor Action Group (LAMAG) is protesting that what it claims would be 85% of the affordable homes would be clustered together behind or close to existing residents on Wetherby Way.

They believe this would not succeed in achieving a balanced and integrated layout of affordable housing in the new neighbourhood.

Although the application is recommended for approval activists have seized on comments by planning and housing officers that the proposed layout would benefit from a redistribution of some of the affordable homes.

This would bring them in line with planning policy which requires affordable housing to be dispersed throughout a development unless there are specific circumstances or benefits that warrant otherwise.

The group is also concerned that although over 3,000 residents who opposed the overall development on what has been described as Ellesmere Port’s last farm were told loss of view was not planning matter, Redrow justifies clustering all the affordable housing together so that larger and bigger detached houses can enjoy the rural aspect of the site.

Redrow describes the new layout as a ‘vast improvement’ on the earlier permission.

It insists affordable housing will be dispersed throughout the new garden village to create inclusiveness and integration and the location of the affordable housing reflects the density of homes on Wetherby Way. The existing approval involves a ‘much more clustered’ location Redrow argues.

LAMAG hopes the borough’s strategic planning committee will insist that affordable home occupiers will be able to enjoy the rural aspect of the site which is something existing residents have now lost.

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