Estate sells Helsby site for housing

Edwards Homes plans to build 10 semi-detached and mews homes in Helsby, west Cheshire after buying a derelict site from the Cholmondeley Estate.

Liverpool-based specialist land surveyor Rees Straw brokered the sale of the half-acre plot in Chester Road on behalf of Cholmondeley.

"One of the biggest challenges in the present market is the lack of development finance", commented Will Rees, director of Rees Straw. "There is a dearth of small developers and sales have been difficult to achieve on sites of this size due to the lack of finance for smaller developments, so this is certainly encouraging news for the regional housing market."

Neil Edwards managing director of Edwards Homes, based in Connah's Quay, said: "We are very experienced in building high quality housing schemes and are delighted to be in a position to provide new homes in such a desirable part of Cheshire."

Robert Miller, agent for the Cholmondeley Estate, added: "We are pleased that this derelict site has been bought by Edward Homes who are an active developer with a respected reputation and given the current state of the housing market, the sale demonstrates confidence in the site's success."

Work is due to start imminently with completion expected within the next 12 months.