Developer wins appeal over Tesco car park flats in East Didsbury

Residents had raised concerns about the impact the 75-flat development would have on traffic and parking

A developer has won an appeal over a council's decision to reject plans for flats on a supermarket car park, which faced hundreds of objections.

Manchester City Council rejected Dandara Living's (DL) apartment block near Tesco in East Didsbury in 2022.

Granting permission after an appeal, planning inspector Claire Searson said the plans complied with policies.

The council said it did not contest the appeal as "additional information" had addressed the reasons for its refusal.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said residents had raised concerns about the impact the 75-flat Blackbird Yard development would have on traffic and parking.

In her report, Ms Searson agreed the road network around the site was "heavily trafficked", but said the developer's evidence that the scheme would not worsen the situation significantly was "compelling".

She said documents showed there were bus, Metrolink and rail services within walking distance of the development, which reduced the need for residents to drive.

The developer also said the typical occupants would be younger and less likely to have a car and a fifth of the scheme would be affordable housing.

The council said DL believed it had addressed the concerns that had formed the basis for its original rejection

The Labour-run council's decision not to attend any appeal hearings, which Ms Searson said was strange, left residents and local representatives to oppose the development at the inquiry.

Following Ms Searson's ruling, East Didsbury Community Group said the development remained "the wrong build in the wrong place", while Didsbury East's Labour councillor Andrew Simcock said he and other local councillors were "disappointed".

DL said it was "delighted with the decision".

The council said planning officers had "engaged with the appeal process throughout and we understand the decision to allow the appeal... was based on further information provided by the applicant".

They said DL's view was that it had "responded to concerns raised by council officers and the committee about the original planning application".

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