ENGINE of the North is set to submit a planning application for The Garden Village at Handforth in the coming weeks, and will shortly conduct a public consultation on the proposed application.

The application will be a ‘hybrid’ submission, with outline permission being sought to establish the principles for housing and the wider site layout, and detailed permission being sought for the site accesses, infrastructure and public realm to create the village centre.

As part of the ongoing public consultation process, an exhibition of the proposals will be on show at Handforth Youth Centre, Old Road, Handforth, on Wednesday, January 16, from 3.30pm to 7.30pm.

Information will also be available on the project website at thegardenvillageathandforth.co.uk.

The planning application will take into consideration the feedback received during Cheshire East Council’s recent consultation on the draft supplementary planning document (SPD) for The Garden Village, which concluded in October.

The SPD, which has now been adopted by Cheshire East Council, sets the quality and design principles for The Garden Village.

The SPD will set out the framework upon which all future planning applications will be judged against, in conjunction with the adopted Cheshire East Local Plan.

Cllr Jamie Macrae, chairman of Engine of the North, said: “The Garden Village at Handforth will see around 1,675 dwellings - homes and extra care units - built in the north of the borough, including affordable and starter homes for young people, family houses and accommodation for older people.

“We want The Garden Village to be a true sustainable ‘lifetime’ community, where people of all ages can live, work and play.

“Engine of the North will act as lead developer on behalf of the council and will soon submit a planning application to deliver the necessary infrastructure for the site and the public realm to create the village centre.

“Before we submit our planning application, we would like to give the community a further opportunity to comment on the proposals and I’d like to encourage people to participate in the forthcoming public consultation.”

Frank Jordan, Cheshire East Council’s executive director for place, said: “We welcome this public consultation by Engine of the North and would encourage people and interested stakeholders to take this opportunity to share their views on the proposals.”

In addition, Cheshire East Council will conduct its own statutory public consultation on the planning application.