737 new homes to be built in Cheshire West and Chester

At least 30 per cent will be affordable homes with houses being built for sale, affordable rent, shared ownership and private rent.

The sites to be developed include:

• The former Acorns Primary School and Rivacre business centre in Ellesmere Port.
• The former Handley Hill School in Winsford.
• Wharton Green in Winsford, which is identified in the Winsford Neighbourhood Plan for residential development.
• A small site in Lache, Chester.
• Land to the rear of Verdin Exchange in Winsford, also identified in Winsford Neighbourhood Plan for residential development.

In recent years, Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWaC) is said to have secured the delivery of more than 900 new homes, 400 of which have been completed and the remainder are "making good progress".

Following a grant funding offer last year from Homes England, the council has now received £14,677,800 to speed up the building of 737 new homes across these six sites.

The funding is from the Government’s £350 million Local Authority Accelerated Construction (LAAC) programme, which was launched to help unlock public land and increase the speed of delivery on local authority housing schemes.

Cllr Richard Beacham, Cabinet Member for Housing, Regeneration and Growth, said: “There is a national housing crisis and this grant funding means that we can bring forward these plans to deal with some of the pressures we are experiencing locally.

“This Council already has a very successful Housing Delivery programme, so any additional funding from Homes England is welcomed because it will keep us at the forefront of residential development in the borough for the next five years.”

CWaC is one of six authorities announced this week to receive a funding deal, which will speed up the construction of over 2,000 homes across the country.

The council will work with partner developers and Housing Associations to develop, deliver and manage the new homes.