Plans for dozens of new homes in Cheshire countryside which would "not normally" have been approved have been given the go-ahead following changes in national planning policy.

Cheshire West and Chester planners have rubber-stamped an outline application for up to 27 properties on land to the south of Tarporley Road in Duddon.

The site, located around 7 to 8 miles east of Chester, is a 3.5-acre rectangular field located to the north west of Meadow Bank Farm and to the south of Tarporley Road.

The plans are only outline at this stage with further details set to follow, but indicative plans are that the development would consist of 19 houses made available at market rates, with eight for social, affordable or intermediate rent.

The figure amounts to 30 per cent affordable housing, in keeping with national policy guidance.

As part of the consultation process, Aphra Brandreth, Conservative MP for Chester South and Eddisbury, had forwarded a comment sent to her by a local resident in which highway safety concerns were raised.

The council's urban design officer had objected to the initial plans before they were subsequently revised.

"The illustrative design indicates a poorly conceived scheme that could prejudice the delivery of a high-quality, context-sensitive development," a council planning officer's report read.

Download our Nub News App!

- It’s FREE and available now
- Breaking news notifications
- Your Town in Your Pocket

"The urban design officer supports the revised parameters plan and access arrangements subject to details to be considered under a future reserved matters application and emphasises the need for sensitive boundary treatments."

In response to concerns raised over local roads, the report concluded: "It is considered there would be no unacceptable impact on highway safety, or that the residual cumulative impacts on the road network would be severe.

"It has been demonstrated that the development can make safe provision for access to and from the site for all users of the development."

The report concluded that such a development would "not normally" be permitted in the countryside, but that national changes of planning policy meant Cheshire West and Chester now had an under supply of housing.

It concluded: "The principal benefit of this scheme is that it would provide residential development which would make a positive contribution toward the council's housing land supply.

"It would also contribute to the Government's objective of significantly boosting the supply of homes."