LAND earmarked for 250 homes and the creation of 1,000 jobs is set to come under public consultation before work begins next year.

Knutsford residents have been invited to give their views on plans for housing and employment land to the north west of the town which has been allocated in Cheshire East Council’s Local Plan.

The Crown Estate, which owns the two sections of land in Northwich Road and Manchester Road, is holding two public consultation events, on January 20 and 21 to showcase their proposals- which are still under wraps.

The two areas, one on land next to the War Memorial House in Northwich Road and the other situated near the Land Rover garage in Manchester Road, have been identified by Cheshire East Council as having the potential to deliver around 250 homes and employment space for more than 1,000 jobs.

Steve Melligan, strategic land manager at The Crown Estate, said: “At north west Knutsford there’s a fantastic opportunity to provide family homes and affordable housing as well as employment space which will create local jobs.

“Seeking the views of local people is incredibly important in ensuring that we can shape a vision for the area which brings long term benefits.

“We believe the plans will deliver the new homes and business accommodation that the area needs, as well as providing the open spaces, walking routes and cycling routes to ensure the new development is a success.

“We’re very much looking forward to talking to local people and hearing their thoughts on the opportunities these sites offer.”

Cllr Jonathan Farber, own councillor, is concerned about the town’s infrastructure. He said: “Whist I fully support the growth of our town, I have said repeatedly; there must be a fully transparent, highly detailed, third party impact study focused on traffic management, healthcare and education before any development should take place.

“The proposal from Crown Estates is indeed, a very large split site development, which will have huge consequences for Knutsford’s infrastructure.”

The Crown Estate will be holding the consultation events at Curzon cinema, Toft Road, on Friday, January 20 from 4pm to 8pm and Saturday, January 21 from 10am to 2pm.

Following the consultation, The Crown Estate expects a ‘masterplan’ for the land to be finalised by February, with applications estimated to be put in by ‘Spring 2017’, developers appointed by 2018 and work to commence late in 2018.

A project website has also been created at www.northwestknutsford.co.uk