The controversial student village plan could be decided by a full meeting of Cheshire West and Chester Council.

Opponents of the 2,300-bed scheme, earmarked for green belt land between Blacon and Mollington, are worried about personnel changes on the strategic planning committee (SPC), which is due to determine Bell Developments’ resubmitted application on September 19.

Now Conservative councillor Brian Crowe (Saughall and Mollington) has enlisted the support of three fellow Tories and a Lib Dem to trigger a special council meeting on September 10 that will vote on whether the authority’s constitution should be changed to allow the full council to sit as a planning committee to decide the application.

The idea was put forward by the council’s chief lawyer Meic Sullivan-Gould to ‘take the heat’ out of the situation.

However, there are indications Tory council leader Mike Jones – who has already declared an interest in the scheme because of his friendship with the Bell family – would not support the student village being determined by full council.

When asked about the leader’s view on this move, Mr Sullivan-Gould said: “Obviously the leader has taken no steps to change the council’s constitution about the powers of the strategic planning committee so it would seem he is not convinced of the need for that action.”

Concerns were raised after the strategic planning committee’s former Tory chairman Myles Hogg speculated over whether he was sacked for voting with Labour to stop the proposed student village back in January.

The plan was resubmitted the next day and Cllr Hogg was replaced by Cllr Howard Greenwood, who worked with Bell on a housing scheme at his own land at Edge, near Malpas, in 2011 although it never materialised.

Mr Sullivan-Gould, the council’s legal head and monitoring officer, suggested allowing the full council to sit as a planning committee to decide the student village application because of the reaction to the circumstances surrounding Cllr Greenwood’s appointment.

He told The Chronicle there were ‘a number of reasons for thinking about alternatives’, but added: “For my part, I have no reason to have concerns that the SPC cannot deal with the new student village application diligently, with all due propriety and in accordance with the law.”

Cheshire West and Chester Council spokesman Ian Callister said: “We can confirm that Cllrs Gareth Anderson, Neil Sullivan, Brian Crowe, Myles Hogg and Bob Thompson have requested a special council meeting to consider changing the constitution of the council to allow it to sit as a planning committee to consider the student village application.

“This matter will come before the special council meeting  already fixed for September 10 to discuss the local plan. If that is agreed, there will have to be induction sessions for all council members who do not have experience of planning.

“A date for the council to sit as a planning committee would then have to be arranged as soon as possible to fulfil planning obligations.

“If that date is not before the next strategic planning committee, due to sit on September 19, that committee may still decide to discuss the student village but would only be able to make a recommendation which would then go to the full council meeting for decision.”

Andy Scargill, of Friends of North Chester Greenbelt, said: “We cautiously welcome the news. This demonstrates that issues as important as protecting our important and historic green belt transcend party politics.

“We call upon the developers to step down and join the rest of Chester in aiding its regeneration by supporting the recommendations of the One City Plan.  This advocates students living in the city, the value of the university and the need to utilise derelict brown field sites. We can now see this starting to happen.”

Even if the student village is approved, it will have to be referred to the Secretary of State for a final decision because of policies designed to protect the green belt.