A HOUSING development which came under fire from more than 800 residents will pump £1.3 million into Wilmslow’s infrastructure.

David Wilson Homes was given permission to build 174 three and four-bedroom homes off Stanneylands Road by Cheshire East Council last December, despite fierce opposition from the Residents Against Little Stanneylands Development group.

But with work on the Stanneylands development now under way, the housebuilder has confirmed that funding of £1,370,067 will be used to support services and facilities for both new and existing residents around town.

Among the investment is £499,567 for schools and special education, more than £185,000 for healthcare services, £297,000 of leisure contributions and £85,000 towards providing sustainable transport.

Graham Swann, managing director at David Wilson Homes North West, said: “Investing into local communities is an extremely important part of building a new housing development.

“We pride ourselves on our commitment to the local area and strive to support it wherever we can.

“As we have now begun groundworks at the development, we will not only be contributing to the area financially, but the construction process will underpin 348 jobs for the local area.”

The scheme was given planning permission in December last year and at the time, a spokesman for Residents Against Little Stanneylands Development said: “We have ‘around’ 174 houses (can we expect this to rise?) accessed solely via Stanneylands Road, with no access to local facilities unless you’re prepared to take on a long, treacherous walk along Stanneylands Road or, as is more likely, jump in the car and add to the traffic carnage.

“Concerns were also raised over the lack of available school places, and the developer has offered a contribution of £500,000 towards local education facilities.

“However, as the local schools are all full to capacity what we really need are new schools.”

The spokesman added: “Cheshire East Council voted against our concerns, and the development will go ahead, despite what we consider to be an incomplete plan.

“Whilst the original proposal referred to a ‘direct link’ to Handforth village and local amenities, it was admitted no such link exists within the plan.

“This was an important part of the original proposal as Government guidelines stress that local services should fall within a set distance, enabling all residents to access services on foot.”