Plans for 119 homes rejected to protect observatory

Plans to build 119 homes close to the Jodrell Bank observatory have been rejected in order to ensure the "reasonable protection" of the site.

Cheshire East Council has praised the Communities Secretary Sajid Javid's decision to deny the proposal by Gladman Developments.

It was proposed that the development would be built on Main Road, Goostrey, about two miles south east of the observatory.

The Communities Secretary said the development would "impair the efficiency of the radio telescope" and that "the protection of Jodrell Bank observatory as a facility of international importance transcends the housing land supply circumstances of the case".

Mr Javid concluded that the harm to the work of the telescope carried "substantial weight against the proposal".