ANGRY Malpas residents have attacked plans to build seven new houses in the centre of their village.
Planning consultants faced the wrath of about 80 villagers at the Jubilee Hall during a meeting of Malpas Parish Council on Monday night.
They were fiercely objecting to plans which would see four bungalows for retired professionals and three affordable houses built on Greenfields Lane, on an empty site belonging to elderly landowner Bernard Corbett.
Representing Mr Corbett, who was not present at the meeting, was Les Smith, a planning consultant for Fisher German Denton Clark estate agents, and architect Sandra Murray who designed the plans.
Both outlined the proposals of the new properties, which would feature generous sized gardens and be designed to be lived in on the ground floor with extensive loft space that could be converted to form additional space for bedrooms.
But although they insisted the site was ‘reasonable’ and in a sustainable location, irate residents questioned the need for another housing development in the village and put forward several objections, including concern for access through adjacent developments, suitable play areas for children and Malpas losing its character as a village.
Rachel Redshaw, whose house lies next to the proposed development, said everyone in the village was ‘disgusted’ at the plans.
“It is ridiculous to build on what is already a narrow cul-de-sac. How is construction traffic supposed to get down our street with no pavement if they build seven extra houses?
“And aside from that, we have children who feel safe playing outside on the street in the evenings; all that extra traffic would mean they have nowhere to go,” she said.
“This would turn us into an urban sprawl with neither the infrastructure nor the demand, reduce the value of properties and straining already overstretched resources in the village.”
Other residents expressed concerns about the three-storey homes blocking views of existing houses, the effect on drains in the village and the impact on value of the current houses in the area.
But Mr Smith said: “We are not looking at a high-rise development here. We are simply putting in a small application to finish the site off that has been designed not to interfere with the village.
“If we do not do this, then another big developer will come along and fill the strip up.
“In all probability, there will be some form of housing development on that site eventually,” he added.
The planning consultants will now go away and review the issues raised before making a decision to submit to Cheshire West and Chester Council.
