Green light for Northstone’s Rossfield Park homes
The 218-unit development is the latest addition to parent company Peel L&P’s regeneration of the former industrial site in Ellesmere Port.
Work is due to start at the end of the summer and the first residents are expected to move in from next spring.
Under the plans, approved by Cheshire West and Chester Council this week, Peel’s housing division Northstone will build a collection of two-, three- and four-bedroom homes to address a local housing shortage.
Improvements to part of the nearby Mersey Forest, including a 1.5km footpath network through Jack’s Wood, picnic benches, a natural play area and a wildlife pond, are also included in the plans.
The homes have been designed with energy saving features and smart household technology to reduce carbon emissions and residents’ bills, and they will also have flexible downstairs layouts and hyper-fast home broadband to support home working, Northstone said.
The scheme marks the final phase of a wider residential development at Rossfield Park for which outline planning consent was granted in 2005. Since then, housebuilders Persimmon Homes and Anwyl Homes have built more than 570 homes at the 90-acre brownfield site, with Peel as master developer.
As part of its planning consent, Northstone must make financial contributions to improve local allotments, sports pitches, parks and recreation, and stump up £1.1m to improve an existing railway footbridge adjacent the site.
“Our plans are the final piece in the jigsaw for the regeneration of Rossfield Park, which has been transformed by Peel L&P over the years into a desirable residential location that offers a mix of housing to help meet local demand,” said Jonathan England, development director of Northstone.
“Our homes focus on design and sustainability while complementing the environment and providing more green spaces and footpaths and cycle routes for people to enjoy and we’re pleased to see the council approve our proposals.”
The planning application for the scheme was lodged last October.
