Plans lodged for Macclesfield farmstead village 

Developer Hall & Co is forging ahead with Flora Henbury, a sustainable housing development to be built around a central community hub designed to encourage communal living. 

The project, designed by Ollier Smurthwaite Architects, aims to create a “new model for sustainable community living in a post-Covid world”, according to the developer. 

Flora Henbury would be built on the 2.5-acre site of the former Flora Garden Centre on Chelford Road and comprise 14 homes, a mix of one-, three-, four- and five-bedroom properties. 

Under plans submitted to Cheshire East Council, FarmFolk, a commercial barn inspired by the concept of a farmstead, would feature flexible workspace and a farm shop, as well as a food hall for communal dining and stalls for local vendors. 

Jamie Hall, projects director at Hall & Co, said: “Flora Henbury is a completely new concept in sustainable living, with home, workspace and community space co-existing within a tranquil countryside setting. 

“It offers a very desirable, unique way of living and working that we know is particularly appealing to the younger generations who are keen to live in closer harmony with nature and are very conscious of their individual impact on the environment.”  

The new homes feature boot rooms and built-in bike storage, plus garden and log stores, “catering for a new way of living where community, recreation and access to nature plays a bigger role in people lives”, the developer said. 

The scheme is designed to encourage sustainability and communal living

The proposals also include amenities to encourage self-sufficiency, with the aim of being carbon neutral by 2038; these include an on-site ‘kitchen garden’ and an orchard. 

Matt Ollier, director at Ollier Smurthwaite, said: “Sustained periods of lockdown have made homeowners acutely aware of what they want from a new home. This site offers an opportunity to put a lot of fresh thinking into place.  

“Generous communal gardens with shared food growing, orchards, wildflower meadows and a community green, combined with a new local shop, café and flexible workspace, will provide opportunities for a better work/life balance.”