Public views invited on Handforth Garden Village

Cheshire East Council will hold a public consultation on the Handforth Garden Village next week as it looks to gauge public opinion on the 1,700-home site off the A34.

The site, which sits on the opposite side of the A34 to the Handforth Dean retail park, already benefits from a masterplan which was endorsed by Cheshire East last month.

Engine of the North, the council’s development company, is leading on the proposals, which include a primary school, sports facilities, a village hall, and space for self-build homes.

The masterplan features a mix of housing types, including family homes and extra care units, along with around 116 acres of open space, and just under 30 acres of employment land.

Engine of the North and the council are inviting public views on the proposals ahead of submitting a hybrid planning application for the site; this is to include an outline consent for the whole site, along with detailed approval for initial preparation and infrastructure works, including remediation and improving access to the A34.

Cheshire East currently owns around 70% of the land for the development, and will be responsible for the education, sports, and medical facilities on site.

Following public consultation, the council is looking to determine the planning application by this summer to allow preparation works to begin.

It is expected the development will have a construction value of £363m, and will create 313 full-time jobs per year during the construction phase. An additional 473 full-time jobs would be supported via the supply chain and other sectors.

Cllr Jamie Macrae, chairman of Engine of the North, said: “We want The Garden Village to be a true sustainable ‘lifetime’ community, where people of all ages can live, work and play.

“Engine of the North will act as lead developer on behalf of the council and will soon submit a planning application to deliver the necessary infrastructure for the site and the public realm to create the village centre.

“Before we submit our planning application, we would like to give the community a further opportunity to comment on the proposals and I’d like to encourage people to participate in the forthcoming public consultation.”

The consultation event will take place at Handforth Youth Centre on Old Road on Wednesday 16 January, between 3:30pm and 7:30pm. Information will also be available on the project website which can be found here.