Taylor Wimpey gets consent for 350-home Widnes neighbourhood
A 35.5-acre former Green Belt site straddling two council boundaries off Chapel Lane, south of Cronton, can now be developed after Halton Council approved the housebuilder’s pitch.
Outline planning permission has been granted, subject to a section 106 agreement relating to open space, affordable homes, and Green Belt compensation.
The decision was made unanimously by Halton Council to approve the project.
Taylor Wimpey is set to provide 20% of the 350 homes as affordable, reaching Halton’s expectation for strategic housing locations.
The scheme has faced public backlash, with more than 650 objections having been lodged throughout the application process.
Despite its previous Green Belt designation, which some objectors alluded to, the land has now been allocated for housing under the council’s local plan.
Two parcels of land make up the neighbourhood. Primary access would be from Chapel Lane, where Rose Farm will need to be demolished to make way for the junction.
Around 13 acres of space are to be reserved for public open space and green infrastructure, approximately 37% of the plot’s area.
The development is to provide an average of two car parking spaces per home across a mix of garages, on-street, and driveway spaces.
Every property will offer EV charging ports.
The project team for the application includes planner Lichfields, eScape urbanists, Vectos, Lexington, AJP, Hepworth Acoustics, enSafe, Randall Thorp, Cotswold Archaeology, Ecology Services, Urban Green, e3p, and Award Energy Consultants.
To view the application, use the planning reference number 23/00244/OUT on Halton Council’s planning portal.
