In December 2017 Cheshire West Council Planning Committee decided to permit Green Belt Land to be used to undertake a so-called development of ''affordable housing” in Kingsley, a small rural village in Cheshire. They used the Rural Exception Policy & an extremely dubious Housing Needs Survey, prepared by a survey company appointed by the Developer's Agents. The conclusions the developer and CWAC drew from this survey were not borne out by the actual reported results.

Please view the planning committee in action at https://cheshirewestandchester.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/316643 (we are item 6, clickable from the items on the right)

Kingsley Parish Council have agreed to take the matter further and seek legal advice. This is going to cost initially in the region of £3 to £5k but if taken to judicial review will cost much more.

We, Kingsley Green Belt Action Group, are grateful to Kingsley Parish Council for their proactive stance on this matter and understand that they do not have the funds to embark on a massive legal challenge to their Borough Authority. Cheshire West Planning appear to think they can adapt the rules to suit themselves and have shown an arrogance beyond words, clearly feeling they will not be challenged due to the costs involved.

An Expert Planner and Solicitor has advised as follows:

We are therefore asking everybody reading this to please consider donating to our cause to fight the decision made by Cheshire West and Chester Borough Council. Although you may think this is just a decision affecting one small field in a village in Cheshire we would argue that this decision affects all of us living in rural England. If we succeed, we might just be able to set a precedent to help you defend your villages and small towns from unscrupulous developers.

This is not a NIMBY fight - Kingsley Parish Council worked with developers in 2011/2012 to achieve a successful affordable housing project on brown field land in the village that is now occupied by people with local connections and considered a successful project. The Parish Council recognise the need for change and increased housing opportunity but want it to be developed in a manner that does not cause problems to residents or strain infrastructure resources to an unacceptable level.