Plans detailing the proposals for the development of the Garden Village at Handforth have been submitted by Engine of the North, the property company owned by Cheshire East Council.
The hybrid planning application comprises of two parts:
• Part 1 - Outline Planning Application, including: demolition works, around 1,500 new homes, new employment uses, new mixed-use local village centre, new green infrastructure and associated infrastructure. (All of the detailed matters such as appearance, means of access, landscaping, layout and scale will be subject to subsequent approval).
• Part 2 - Full Planning Application for initial preparation and infrastructure works including: ground remediation, re-profiling and preparation works, highway works, drainage works, utilities works, replacement A34 bridge works, green infrastructure works and other associated infrastructure.
The proposal is to create one of the fourteen national Garden Villages on a 121ha site located to the east of the Wilmslow-Handforth Bypass (A34) and south of Manchester Airport Eastern Link Road (A555) in Handforth.
The scheme includes 1,500 homes (30% of which will be affordable housing) employment opportunities, a mixed-use local centre, primary school and a network of open spaces and designed to create a '21st Century Garden Village'.
The dwellings will be made up of :
• High density neighbourhoods shall be located close to and south of the village centre. This area shall consist of a series of interconnecting mews, streets and lanes enclosed by two, two and a half and three storey townhouses and small apartment blocks. Some semi-detached and detached properties shall be used in these areas to add variety and be used as landmarks or header buildings.
• Medium density neighbourhoods provide a transition to between the higher density housing in the core of the site and the lower density housing on the eastern and southern fringes of the site. These areas shall consist of a balanced mix of townhouse, semi-detached and detached properties with the majority being of two storeys in height.
• Low density neighbourhoods provide the interface between areas of green space and residential. These areas will consist of primarily two storey properties, including a small proportion of semi-detached homes with the majority being detached homes.
• Rural density housing areas are located primarily in the south eastern corner of the Garden Village adjacent to the open countryside. The density here is very low and similar to that found in surrounding villages. Homes will be detached in form, all two storey in height and set into extensive gardens or wooded landscapes.
It is currently envisaged that The Garden Village will provide affordable homes comprising 1, 2 or 3 bedrooms of a mixed tenure along with mid-market family homes providing 2, 3, 4 or 5 bedrooms and some larger 'executive' homes, providing 3, 4, 5 or 6 bedrooms.
Employment uses will include the existing MoD offices to the north of the village heart, along with new employment sites adjoining the MoD site and between the existing Total Fitness Leisure complex and the high street. Additionally office accommodation shall also be incorporated into the village high street.
The application explains that at this stage it is necessary to retain flexibility over its future use to generate market interest but it is envisaged that the centre could contain a small-scale foodstore, newsagent, medical centre, pharmacy, community centre, nursery, restaurant, pub, cafe, offices or other community services and facilities.
As part of the local centre a two-form entry primary school is proposed at the eastern end of the high street which will contain sports provision and could also include community uses such as a village hall or community meeting rooms.
Recreational areas include cycle paths, a country park, woodland, orchard, community allotments and sports and leisure provision such as trim trails, jogging and running circuits.
As part of the scheme Dairy House Farm, which is a Grade II Listed Building currently in a state of disrepair, will be brought back to use.
The application states that the repairs and refurbishment of Dairy House Farmhouse will seek to reinstate original features, including the original timber mullion and transoms windows as detailed within the Historic England listing description, use Kerridge stone slates and stone ridges in roof repairs and use reclaimed brickwork in repairs, where feasible and where materials are in an appropriate condition.
As part of the site's allocation for development under Local Plan Strategy Site Allocation LPS33, the Green Belt designation that once included the site has been rolled back to the area north of Spath Lane.
The plans can be viewed on Cheshire East Council's planning portal by searching for placing reference 19/0623M. The deadline for submitting comments is 13th June and a decision is expected by 4th September.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
Or will the 30% turn out to be Section 106 money?
Who gets to decide? Some part of Cheshire East? Planners? Or the Counsellors?
Just asking?
What I would like to know is - what limitations are there on developments like this ‘Garden Village’ to have them only available for UK residents? You know, people such as YOUR children/grandchildren. The people who are needed to live within our community to make it function - police, teachers, hospital workers and the like. Another marketing ploy of this part of the Northwest is that it has easy access to the major motorways in the region and thereby suggesting that it is feasible to live around here and drive to your place of work. Well the roads are clogged up enough and it is no solution to suggest we build any more. The solution to the busy roads is to not allow any more housing developments such as this.
I hear there is someone from Singapore living in Wilmslow whose job is to seek housing for people not from the UK. Why do we allow this pressure on our housing stock that can only make it more difficult for YOUR children/grandchildren to ‘get on the property ladder’? I hate that phrase but everyone knows what it means. Since we are still in the EU we cannot stop anyone from the EU buying homes here in the UK, but why on earth do we allow the likes of rich Russians, Chinese and Africans to come here with their wealth and buy whatever homes they wish and then use them intermittently?
Theresa May did little to stop non-EU nationals coming to the UK when she was Home Secretary.
Severely restricting the purchase of UK homes by non-UK citizens is for me a reason for Brexit so we can start to sort out the housing crisis that exists for UK nationals.
This ‘Garden Village’ concept is just too silly an idea and is just another bonanza for the likes of the large house-building companies such as Persimmon that recently paid its CEO a £750m bonus. See the link: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/persimmon-homes-profits-profiteering-ceo-dave-jenkinson-jeff-fairburn-executive-pay-help-to-buy-a8797376.html