A CHELFORD resident will meet with his neighbours to discuss how to transform what he calls a ‘geriatric’ community into a thriving village.

David Hughes, who has lived in the village since 1983, wants to see homes, offices and community facilities built opposite the Egerton Arms, in Knutsford Road.

He is proposing that the 23-acre site, which was previously occupied by Mere Hills Farm, is taken out of the east Cheshire greenbelt and made available for development.

The idea will be discussed by Mr Hughes and his fellow residents in Chelford Village Hall from 7pm on Thursday, June 29, and the developer believes it could be a ‘once in a century chance to rethink a community that is dying as we speak’.

In a letter sent out to residents across Chelford, he said: “Chelford village, as a community, has become pensionable, geriatric and grey.

“In the 2011 national census, the average age in our village was 61, compared to the national average of 39 – a whole generation different.

“There are very few children of school age from three to 18 in an area with a GP patient list of 3,600, and we have the oldest GP patient age profile in east Cheshire.”

Mr Hughes wants to see affordable housing be built for younger generations, alongside provision for a bigger GP practice and primary school, with an estimated 500 residents set to move into the village on the old Stobart and Chelford Market sites combined.

Meanwhile, he claims the development could help bring traffic on the ‘scary’ A537 under control with a new roundabout at Dixon Drive and provide a significant recreational facility, such as a small country park.

“The existing infrastructure is just not fit for purpose,” He added.

“If the patient list of 3,600 at our GP surgery is a reasonable measure of our community size, then we are significantly lacking in many services.

“We have no dentist, no vet, no local convenience store, no take-away, a desperately-sited post office in need of relocation and, of course, virtually no affordable homes.

“And for all of us with environmental concerns, the amount of CO2 emissions for journeys to nearby towns and villages to use services is alarming and could be dramatically reduced.”

Cllr David Wilson, chairman of Chelford Parish Council, told the Guardian that he was made aware of the idea a few months ago.

“Mr Hughes presented the ideas to the parish council and our decision was not to comment further until a firm planning application was made,” he said.

“I’m not sure how the meeting will go, or how many residents will turn up – several residents haven’t received the information and the land crosses outside the parish.”