Gatley Golf Club housing plans go to appeal

Rejected plans for over 270 new homes to be built at Gatley Golf Club are being appealed by developers, Hollins Strategic Land (HSL).

In February 2024, councillors on the borough’s Planning & Highways Regulation Committee went against the recommendations of the council’s planning officers and voted 7-5 against plans for 278 new homes, including 50% affordable housing provision, on the greenbelt site straddling the Manchester to Wilmslow railway line. Councillors cited the loss of green space in the borough in making their decision to vote down proposals.

Outline plans for redevelopment of the site included a mix of one- to four-bedroom homes, with a focus on retirement properties and bungalows for the borough’s older residents. Around 26 acres of the site would also have remained undeveloped as public open space, including green walkways and wildlife corridors. HSL brought forward plans on behalf of Gatley Golf Club who find the private course is no longer financially viable; Asteer Planning is also advising the developer in their appeal.

Developers have now begun the appeals process with the national Planning Inspectorate, which will have final say on whether the scheme, first tabled in 2021, can go ahead. HSL argue the development would deliver a net gain in publicly accessible green space in the borough as parts of the previously private golf course would come into use public use, as well as highlighting the borough’s overall housing needs and lack of a Local Plan that sets out a five-year supply of land for new homes.

The Planning Inspectorate will begin receiving evidence from both the developer and Stockport Council in September and October, with an inquiry date set of 26th November 2024. The national planning office has previously overturned similar decisions to reject schemes by councillors, including in January at Mirlees Fields. The decision referenced the shortfall of housing supply in the borough owing to Stockport’s continued lack of a Local Plan following the Council’s withdrawal from the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework and subsequent delays over uncertainty around government planning policy, most recently in response to a significant increase in Stockport’s housebuilding targets.