Fresh plans in as Macclesfield Rugby Club rethinks
An 80-bed care home and 22 bungalows will sit alongside revamped facilities at Priory Park as the sports organisation looks to secure its long-term future.
The proposals have now been lodged with Cheshire East Council. Rapleys is the planning consultant and KMA the architect.
Howard Homes Macclesfield, part of Knutsford-based HBV Group, has submitted the application following close collaboration with the club, which was founded in 1874.
The proposals combine improvements to the club’s Priory Park facilities with an 80-bedroom care home and 22 one and two-bedroom bungalows.
Proceeds from the land sale would fund investment in the sporting facilities, while increased income from a new 4G pitch, improved clubhouse and a new gym would support ongoing maintenance and operations.
The club had previously partnered with Jones Homes on a reworking of the 30-acre site, with a plan including 76 homes recommended for refusal by officers in 2018.
The sporting aspect
The plans include an upgraded and extended clubhouse, improved changing facilities – going from four to six changing rooms, with women’s and girls’ rugby at the forefront of thinking – a new gym and a new floodlit 4G playing surface on the main pitch, meeting World Rugby standards, and capable of accommodating 60 hours of use each week.
New natural turf pitches would bring currently unsuitable land into sporting use, delivering an overall increase in usable playing space.
Rob Oliver, commercial director at Macclesfield Rugby Union Club, said: “These proposals would help put the club on a sustainable financial footing and allow us to invest in improvements that we could not otherwise afford. That means better pitches, better facilities for women and girls, and more opportunities for people of all ages to enjoy sport.
“We have a responsibility to look after this club for the next generation. These plans are central to that ambition.” The club’s mini and youth section had 340 active members in the 2025/26 season.
Priory Park’s clubhouse already hosts a variety of community events, which would also benefit from investment, the club said.
As well as providing facilities for local, grassroots football clubs the proposals also support the club’s links with lacrosse, with an ambition for the existing artificial pitch to become a national training base for Great Britain Lacrosse.
The residential aspect
The care home would provide accommodation for older people, including specialist provision for people living with dementia. The 22 bungalows would be designed to meet accessible and adaptable or wheelchair-user standards, with 45% proposed as affordable housing.
New tree planting, landscaped spaces and improved pedestrian links would connect the homes, sporting facilities and surrounding walking routes.
Daniel Keane of Howard Homes Macclesfield said: “The development would fund substantial improvements at Priory Park, helping the club serve future generations and opening up more opportunities for the wider community.
“The bungalows, including affordable homes, would give people more choice for accessible accommodation locally, while the care home would help meet the need for specialist accommodation, including for people living with dementia.”
Keane added that the plans have been shaped through engagement with club members, local residents and other community users, including an event at Priory Park in March. The door is still open for further input, he said.
Letters of support from the Rugby Football Union and Cheshire County Football Association accompany the application.
The proposals can be viewed on CEC’s planning portal with the reference 26/3523/FUL.
