07/05/2026
Planning Board 5th May 2026
Update for residents re CWaC considering the Taylor Wimpey site, Chester Road
CWaC has been saddled with an arbitrary housing targets imposed with no evidence base to support the huge increase from 500 to 2000 houses per year and this is having a huge impact on Tattenhall.
When I spoke to the Planning Board members, I focused on the 4 most critical infrastructure issues that many residents have raised with me, these being;
1. Safe access on to the A41
2. Congestion on A41 and resulting pollution
3. Doctors surgery
4. Sewerage treatment works
Safe access on to the A41
There are 3 routes from Tattenhall to the A41 each one is very difficult to use and at the Chester Road junction there are often queues of over a mile, especially in the summer. There is nothing in this application that helps resolve this matter, indeed it will only exasperate the issues.
Congestion on A41 and resulting pollution
Christleton Parish Council worked with CWaC a few years ago and carried out studies into the impact of traffic on the A41, noting it often queues from Sainsbury’s roundabout for c 2 ½ miles back to Waverton.
The result is high levels of NO2 and PM2.5
NO2 disperses, however, PM2.5 are nano-particles and when measured were found to are multiple times higher than the recommended safety levels.
Being heavier than air, hangs around as a cloud at ground level.
These particles are breathed in and due to their very small size pass through the lungs into the blood stream and then into the organs causing significant health issues, especially for the young, elderly and vulnerable adults.
We have thousands of children walking along and crossing the road on a daily basis walking to Christleton primary school and the two secondary schools of Christleton and Bishops.
I had submitted a motion to the May Council regarding this matter, unfortunately due to the by-election the meeting has been cancelled so will hopefully this significant public health be discussed at the July Council meeting.
Doctors Surgery
The Tattenhall GP practice has merged with the Malpas practice and now has circa 16,000 residents on its books and is expected to increase to c 24,000 making it one of the largest rural practices in the area.
The two buildings in Tattenhall and Farndon are totally inadequate and I have initiated discussions between the practice and a local property owner to look at an alternative location in Tattenhall that will provide a full range of services and capacity.
Residents need health care that is accessible, at this time so I welcome the £165k S106 contribution (para 6.98) as this would enable the design and plans for the GP practice’s favoured option and this would be a huge step forward.
Tattenhall Sewerage Treatment Works
In their letter in response to the consultation on this application, Welsh Water have concluded based on the plans, that the Tattenhall works is unlikely to have sufficient capacity for the development. It recommends removing the surface drainage to help the situation.
However, the current treatment works is under stress, currently and storm related discharges have increased. Noting CWaC have declared a climate change emergency and consequently expect more rain and storm conditions.
Number Length
of of
discharges time
2021 83 354
2022 77 254
2023 91 551
2024 97 757
2025 66 336
There is currently a legal claim signed by 4500 residents against Avara and Welsh Water alleges that pollution has been caused by water run-off from farmland containing high levels of phosphorus, nitrogen and bacteria from poultry manure spread on the land as fertiliser. It also alleges bacteria and nutrient pollution in the rivers has been caused by the discharge of sewage directly into the rivers from Welsh Water sewerage systems.
What is the CWaC’s liability should we agree planning in the knowledge that infrastructure cannot cope and directly impacts on the environment by the pollution of the water courses and consequently the River Dee.
There is all Party support to stop the pollution of the River Dee and this is a a critical component of the current pollution of the River Dee.
I request Planning Board this application is deferred for 3 months to enable the council to review this matter and obtain further information.
Cllr Iain Keeping gave an excellent review of where the Parish Council is in updating the Neighbourhood Plan. It is at an advanced stage, stating this application is premature, although understanding this is a hard position to justify refusal.
Members of the Planning Board, surprisingly from all Parties were supportive of where the community is, in reviewing the Neighbourhood Plan and also expressed concerns about both the pollution of the River Dee and the traffic pollution along the A41 from Waverton to Christleton.
After quite a long debate, that sometimes went around in circles, due to the Officers concerns the Planning Board were making a decision they didn’t agree with !!!, the Planning Board voted 9 for deferral in making the decision, based on the mix of housing, too many 4/5 bedroom houses and not enough 1/2 bed “more affordable” houses, with 1 voting against and 1 abstention.
This decision places on Taylor Wimpey the need to review their plan, this may take 2-3 months or longer – nobody is quite sure. They could decide to appeal for none determination, but this may take 4-6 months, so they have some decisions to make.
The arguments put forward by myself and the Iain apply to all the major applications currently in the planning system, so as we gather more information we can improve the robustness of our arguments
Mike Jones
