REDEVELOPED land behind the Verdin Exchange could be home to 268 homes, a new planning application suggests.

The proposal – refined after public consultation in December – would see 24 one-bedroom homes, 66 of two bedroom, 157 of three bedrooms and 21 four-bedroom homes built with five sports pitches retained near Grange Lane.

The houses are largely semi-detached and of two storeys, although six bungalows – in three pairs of semi-detached homes – are also included.

The site would be accessed via Roehurst Lane, with the site stretching to the north east and eventually backing onto homes at the back of Hawkshead Way.

Knutsford Guardian:

A mixture of open market sales and affordable housing are included.

A planning statement submitted by Engie Regeneration said: “The site currently comprises of vacant scrubland, playing fields and informal areas of open space. There are no buildings currently within the application site.

“The development has ensured the sites ecology is respected and enhanced wherever possible.

“Respecting the local vernacular and the Winsford Neighbourhood Plan has developed a series of visually sympathetic family homes that will help meet the borough’s housing need.”

The application marks the latest step in Cheshire West and Chester Council’s bid to speed up housebuilding in the town in line with the Local Plan and neighbourhood plan.

READ >>> CWAC awarded £9m for Winsford housing sites

Homes England awarded the council a £9 million funding pot for Winsford, with 82 homes approved at Handley Hill, 138 homes approved off Wharton Road and now 268 homes proposed behind the Verdin Exchange making up the scheme.

The cash is part of the Government’s £350 million Local Authority Accelerated Construction (LAAC) programme, which aims to speed up the housebuilding process by helping to prepare public land for development.

Cllr Richard Beacham, CWAC cabinet member for housing, said: “There is a national housing crisis and this grant funding means that we can bring forward these plans to deal with some of the pressures we are experiencing locally.

“This council already has a very successful housing delivery programme, so any additional funding from Homes England is welcomed because it will keep us at the forefront of residential development in the borough for the next five years.”

Plans for land behind the Verdin Exchange have been developed since 2018, with initial designs not standing up to the Neighbourhood Plan – as voted in by residents six years ago.

A public consultation in January saw tweaks to the plan, including footpaths and a buffer between proposed homes and the proposed fire station training centre development.

A planning statement said: “It became clear that the residents who already back onto the right of way would prefer to keep the situation as rather than the design teams proposals to back on to the existing gardens with proposed gardens and in essence close the housing parcel.

“It has been decided to respect the existing residents wishes we shall redesign this section of the scheme to reflect their wishes.”

A statutory consultation is open until Thursday, March 26 for residents to have their say on the plans via CWAC’s planning department.