A MAJOR development in Knutsford is expected to accommodate hundreds of new jobs if it gets the go ahead.

A plan, which has now gone before Cheshire East planners for the development of the Barclays site at the Radbroke Hall campus, includes a new two storey 989 sq metre modular office complex and more than 400 new parking places.

In April, Barclays announced it was planning to create up to 500 jobs at Radbroke Hall.

In its planning submission Barclays said 3,300 staff were based at Radbroke Hall.

The site currently has 16 individual car parks which can accommodate up to 2,100 vehicles and 29 disabled parking spaces.

Barclays says staff are not permitted to park at Radbroke Hall unless they car share.

The new plan is now seeking to build infill office accommodation to house an additional 200 employees and additional 436 car park spaces to accommodate growth in staff numbers at the site, which Barclays says, will take place without the need for new office accommodation.

The proposed car park will be accommodated on an existing grassed area within the site and will be an extension to an existing 257 space car park to the north east of the site.

The car park will be accessed via the existing barrier controlled staff entrance/exit off the A50 Holmes Chapel Road.

In June, traffic problems resurfaced after residents complained at a Lower Peover parish council meeting, the risks they faced as up to 200 cars a day use the car park – the entry to which is a public footpath – to access Radbroke Hall.

In a transport statement now submitted to planners, Barclays said it had introduced a range of measures on site in recent years to encourage sustainable travel. This included a free coach service between the site and nearby towns and rail stations.

It said traffic generated by the proposed development has been calculated using parameters agreed with Cheshire East Council.

The assessment indicated that in the region of 150 additional trips in the AM and PM peak would be generated as a result of the additional parking and office space.

It said an additional document would be submitted shortly with detailed analysis of impact at the staff access junction and provide an indication of potential traffic increase through Knutsford.