Plans for an accessible bungalow for a man with Parkinsons and a degenerative eye condition along with two other bungalows for family members to provide care have been rejected by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council. Councillors said restrictive planning law prevents them from approving the application.

The bungalows were set to be built on Park Lane in Cheadle on greenbelt land and outside the boundary of Cheadle. The application received objections from Highways which said the application 'fails to demonstrate a safe and suitable access', four neighbours also raised concerns.

Applicant Mark Bullock told councillors he was not in it for financial gain and he just wanted to live the best life he can. He said: "I was born in Cheadle and lived in the area all my life. The land in question has been in my family for over 90 years. 

"My unsuccessful quest to find a suitable bungalow in the centre of Cheadle where there is a storage of bungalows start 12 months ago when I was diagnosed with the onset of Parkinson's disease and being a diabetic with a degenerative eye condition, which I'm being checked on a four monthly basis. I now know there's a need, these conditions I will eventually lose my independence.

"I haven't got anyone else, my wife does not drive, so I'll lose that ability of getting about. Thus if I could live on Park Lane I would be on a reasonably level ground and only 300 metres from the Cheadle High Street and all the amenities and support being in the centre of Cheadle.

"So I could carry on with a reasonable sense of independence initially. I am acutely aware however my conditions will need round the clock care moving forward hence the need for two additional properties that will be occupied by my son and daughter and their families.

"This will allow a strong family group to stay together resulting in both myself and wife having the support and assistance we will need in old age without putting additional burden on the care system."

Councillors said restrictive planning law prevents them from approving the application (Google).

Councillors were reminded that personal circumstances will rarely outweigh planning policies. Especially when the development is in greenbelt land which is the strictest and most restrictive policy.

Councillor Ian Plant commented: "I think along with everybody else we have full sympathy for the applicant and you can see what predicament we're in being in the greenbelt as well. It's always been publicised by Cheadle Town Council that we're always got a shortage of bungalows in Cheadle. 

Planning officers at the council recommended that the application be refused and was called in to the planning committee by Councillor Kate Mills for the committee to assess the impact on the greenbelt.

Committee chairman, Councillor Peter Wilkinson said: "I do believe we need more properties adapted for disabled people with purpose built, that's why we've got a massive fund to adapt other dwellings for disabled people because we haven't got enough dwellings to cater for the older generations. So I'm really on the fence with this one."

Councillor Paul Roberts said that the application tugs at the heart strings but the committee is tied to planning law. He said: "I feel sorry for the gentleman that things happen but it's the same ruling as what we're saying, it's not one property it's three properties and that makes the difference. 

"If it had been one property for an infill I might have been looking at it a lot differently but when it's three it's a completely different situation because it then becomes three properties for somebody else because something could happen than them three properties could go out of the family situation."

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READ MORE: Plans to replace Hanley car park with new block of flats rejected

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