A FORMER hotel and pub which have been closed for more than a year could soon be replaced with a 19-home housing estate.

PH Property Holdings Ltd has applied to Cheshire East Council seeking permission to demolish The Swan Brewers Fayre and Premier Inn Knutsford to make way for a new residential development.

The hotel complex and pub in Bucklow Hill closed in February 2020 following a decline in custom – due in some part to a reduction in passing traffic after the completion of the new A556 bypass.

A design and access statement, prepared on behalf of PH Property Holdings as part of the application says: "This is a planning application for 19 new high quality family dwellings to replace The Swan Brewers Fayre and Premier Inn Knutsford and associated buildings.

Knutsford Guardian: An artist's impression of how the news homes could look (Barnes Walker)An artist's impression of how the news homes could look (Barnes Walker)

"The hotel complex closed in late February 2020 following gradual decline in custom, lost to more popular and modern Airport and City Hotel locations.,

"This was exacerbated by the completion of the new A556 bypass, leading to a dramatic reduction in passing traffic.

"This drastic reduction in through traffic, and a narrowing of Chester Road, has had a marked effect on the character and commercial vitality of the area.

"As a result there is now a vacant site at the heart of Bucklow Hill.

"The proposed scheme seeks to emulate a ‘cluster’ of buildings ranged around a central ‘farm’ courtyard, with a run of workers cottages to Chester Road to create a development pattern which sits comfortably within the surrounding area and looks to have been a part of it through time.

Knutsford Guardian: Plan of the new estate (Barnes Walker)Plan of the new estate (Barnes Walker)

"It will respond positively to the vernacular and character of the historic core of Bucklow Hill.

"Where some of the previous buildings on the site sit very close to the boundary, the provision for rear garden spaces pushes the built form back into the site significantly.

"This will help reduce the visual impact of the development within the landscape compared to the previous hotel.

"The application site represents a unique opportunity to provide much needed family dwellings in a rural, yet sustainable location, close to Knutsford and Altrincham."

The new estate, which will feature a mix of mews cottages as well as semi-detached and detached properties, will comprise of five three-bed homes, four four-bed homes and 10 five-bed homes.

The application states the homes will be of red-brick construction, with natural slate roofs.

As well as dwellings, the proposal would also introduce comprehensive planting to strengthen all boundaries and ensure the next generation of mature trees and hedgerows will flourish on the site.

A shared open space is also planned as part of the development.

To view and comment on these plans, use reference 21/2975M when searching the council's online planning portal.

The deadline for submitting comments on these plans is July 15, with the council looking to make a decision by August 27.