Muller adds retail and care home to Sandbach plans

Muller Property Group is launching a consultation for a 20-acre development in Sandbach provisionally billed as Houndings Park.

Located off Old Mill Road, the site has an existing consent for 200 houses. The new proposals include a Starbucks coffee shop, KFC, a 25,000 sq ft food store, and a BP filling station with Marks & Spencer Simply Food store. There would be around 100 “largely affordable” homes and a 75-bed extra care retirement facility as part of the masterplan.

A consultation event is being held on 14 March at Sandbach Town Hall between 1pm and 8pm, at which members of Muller’s development team will be on hand to take questions.

Colin Muller, chief executive of the business, said: “This major investment will help to cater for people travelling elsewhere for their shopping and leisure needs and persuade them to stay in Sandbach.

“The scheme will create over 150 new jobs for local people and will also provide new operators and brands to the town and increase choice for residents. Our own retail studies, and those from the council, identify a need for more retail provision to meet the needs of the town, which these plans help to address.

“The value of investment into the scheme is approaching £40m and will be a major boost to jobs, trade and new facilities in one of Cheshire East’s key market towns. Houndings Park is in a truly sustainable location, with its proximity to the town centre, and will encourage linked visits to other businesses in Sandbach.”

If approved, the project will also underpin the funding and delivery for a remodeled roundabout on the A534 Old Mill Road.

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what is meant by “largely affordable”???

By pj

All it needs is a Primark store and it would be fully complete, they would never need to leave the development.

By Suits you sir!

Madness! The roundabout is already under huge pressure and quickly becomes gridlocked at the best of times. This proposal will greatly increase the risk of traffic accidents and delays. Starbucks and KFC are not needed in this area. We already have McDonalds, Domino Pizza, Costa to fulfil fast food needs. Waitrose and Iceland provide quality food to the residents here so another food outlet is unnecessary. The present high street stores in Sandbach more than adequately meet the needs of the people and this proposal would seriously affect their businesses in negative way. We need to protect the independent retail outlets, shops, bistros and cafes and do not need generic big name companies to take over our town. Very serious consideration should be made to the siting of this proposal to prevent the any worsening pressure already on the existing roads and amenities. Just because a piece of land exists does not mean it should be built on to line the pockets of would be developers. The people of this town deserve better.

By J J

About time sandbach had a retail park as im sick of having to drive into crewe for my marks and Spencer food shop

By Mtc

Sandbach doesn’t need any more housing! Period.

By J Bell

Sandbach does need more housing! Period.

By QuaysMan

Sandbach does not need this type of development. Schools, doctors, dentists are already oversubscribed and there are not enough places for the current population and existing new developments. The roads are crowded and frequently blocked at peak times and when motorway diversions operate. Let’s get the infrastructure right before we have new developments.

By Rover

Sandbach needs support facilities prio to more development. Doctors and schools cannot cope with the existing population let alone another development. This one impacts on local footpaths which are walked regularly. Crewe is run down and in need of modernisation which will make it more attractive once HS2 goes ahead. This development does not fit with Sandbach’s individuality.

By Rover

With a consent for upto 200 houses development is inevitable.This shall increase traffic onto an already congested roundabout.However the addition of a retail store, filling station and drive through food outlet shall exacerbate this problem.
Furthermore additional retail space outside of the defined town shopping area shall be detrimental to the sustainability of existing businesses in the town centre.This development shall not be beneficial to Sandbach.

By jc.a.realist

Sandbach Does NOT need anymore housing .
We already have congestion problems .
Also the schools doctors etc are already overloaded .

By P.D.Wain

The plans appear to disregard the country footpaths numbered 17, 18, 19 and 50, degrading them to pavements alongside roads.

Another fuel station and convenience store similar to the existing one by junction 17 is not required.

There are plenty of food stores, such as Waitrose, Coop, Aldi and Iceland in Sandbach; another such as Lidl, we do not need any more.

Sandbach already has more than enough drive-through coffee and fast food outlets, such as MacDonalds and Costa and many independents.

The retail is well away from central Sandbach, and includes a walk across very busy roads, possibly helped by a toucan crossing, but conversely this makes the traffic situation worse. Placing retail away from the centre, could have the same effect as at Crewe where Grand Junction is killing off the central area.

The traffic situation in Sandbach is already very bad at peak times, the traffic from the housing and retail at Houndings Park will make it worse.

At best the changes to the roundabout will merely hold the situation, as at present, rather than improving it.

By Trevor

A previous development here included an air quality survey by ECUS LTD which the council received on 20th Sep 2013 REF 13/2389C. It showed levels of Nitrogen Dioxide pollution of 50-60 ug/m3 annual mean, at the roundabout junction entrance exit to the proposed development. The first national guidline limit is 40ug/m3 annual mean. This survey was produced in 2013 and does not show a road of four lanes and a toucan crossing addition, both of which greatly increase the levels of Nitrogen Dioxide pollution well above the legal limits. A double increase in traffic increases Nitrogen Dioxide polluton by three. A stopping of traffic with four lanes at busy times will increase the Nitogen Dioxide limits at a toucan crossing to well above the second national guidelines of 200 ug/m3 not to be exceeded more than 18 times in a year. Why place a toucan crossing in the most polluted road junction in Sandbach. Note the main reason for over the limit levels of Nitrogen Dioxide is due to the roundabout being in a low lying area. (Nitrogen Dioxide is heavier than air). Also the sample levels of Nitrogen Dioxide are normaly taken at a height of 1.2 metres above ground. So what levels would children in low push chairs breath in, at a proposed toucan crossing, at rush hour on a still day? Something to think about and research for all!!

By C. CONCE

We do not need any more fast food outlets in Sandbach. Particularly ones that are outside of the main shopping area that people will inevitably access by car thus increasing congestion. The chaos caused by changes to roundabouts and junctions has been evident during the last few years. Sandbach has had more than its share of new housing and developments as the local council did not put in place a local plan and the developers have had a field day. More retail provision is needed in the town with encouragement for small businesses, not more fast food chains like Starbucks and KFC.

As Trevor mentions, no thought seems to have been given to the fact that the footpaths across this area (which I used last weekend along with many others) seem to have been forgotten.

By Richard Vickery

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