Brownfield support for Macclesfield

Cheshire East Council has secured a £100,000 grant from the Department for Communities & Local Government to make two brownfield sites in Macclesfield shovel-ready.

The money is from a new £5m fund set up to enable planning authorities to establish Local Development Orders on brownfield land. LDOs streamline the planning process and save time and money, aimed at boosting the construction of houses on these sites.

Macclesfield is the borough's pilot area for projects to create more housing in or close to town centres.

Alongside efforts to get more houses built on brownfield land, grants to convert unused floors above shops into modern, affordable apartments are available under a Town Living Initiative run by the Council in conjunction with the Homes and Communities Agency and social landlord Contour Homes.

Caroline Simpson, Cheshire East Council's executive director of economic growth and prosperity, said: "We have got brownfield sites in Macclesfield that need funding if they are to be developed.

"The council has a brownfield-first policy on housing and we are actively seeking ways to ensure that we build on any previously developed land before encroaching on the countryside or green belt."