Hillcrest finalises King’s School buy
The housebuilder has completed the acquisition of a six-acre site off Cumberland Street in Macclesfield but has yet to secure planning permission to redevelop it into 115 homes.
Hillcrest Homes agreed to buy the site from King’s School for an undisclosed sum in 2018 but the deal has only just been signed following the school’s relocation to a £60m new-build campus outside Prestbury last summer.
The plot is one of several within the wider King’s School estate the earmarked for residential development.
Hillcrest Homes’ application to redevelop the Cumberland Street site was deferred for a second time when Cheshire East’s planning committee met in December.
Under the plans, drawn up by architect Project3, the existing 20th century building within the King’s School complex would be converted into 29 one- and two-bedroom apartments, with the addition of a contemporary extension to the rear.
A further 45 apartments for elderly people, and 33 two-, three-, four- and five-bedroom houses are also proposed.
Avison Young is the planner for Hillcrest and Exterior Architect is the landscape architect.
Elsewhere on the King’s School estate, housebuilders Barratt and David Wilson Homes, with housing association Torus, are to build 300 homes on nearby Fence Avenue, while care home developer McCarthy & Stone and housebuilder Bellway are also advancing projects at the high-profile site on the western approach to Macclesfield town centre.
Hillcrest managing director James Payne said: “We’ve invested considerable time and care to align our vision for the development with the council’s aspirations for the future of Macclesfield and have met with, and actively listened to, the wishes of the local community, heritage groups and other stakeholders.”
Subject to planning approval in spring, Hillcrest hopes to commence restoration and construction work before the end of the year.
