UP to 100 more homes could be built in a Cheshire town where there has already been significant residential development.

Outline plans have been lodged with Cheshire West and Chester Council for "up to 100 dwellings" on 3.8 hectares of land at Mere's Edge, Helsby, which would adjoin two approved residential developments.

Housing would be a mix of one- to four-bedroom dwellings.

The plans also allow for up to 30 bedspaces (for example, assisted living accommodation), up to 1,000 square metres of a commercial, business and service floorspace and/or community uses, as well as a new pedestrian and cycle route, plus highway and landscaping works.

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Planning consultants WSP, on behalf of applicants Brookhouse (Helsby) Limited, said the land had previously been marketed for employment use, but had failed to gather sufficient interest, and since then there have been neighbouring industrial sites redeveloped for new homes.

A planning statement revealed the land was marketed by Fisher German and had 33 enquiries, but none of them resulted in serious interest.

The new development would sit next to a site to the north, where permission was granted to build more than 200 homes, and a site to the east where more than 100 homes were approved. It would be located between the Chester-Warrington railway and Hornsmill Brook, south of Helsby Community Sports Club and north of the A5117.

The 1,000 square metres would, the applicants state, "enable the potential inclusion of office space, small workshops, a community hub or other commercial/community uses within these new use classes".

There would be some form of open space along the Hornsmill Brook, for flood risk management and provision for cycling/pedestrian pathways. Green landscaping would be provided on the western boundary of the site to protect the area from noise caused by passing trains.

A design and access statement said the "ong-term vision" for the area would be to provide a connected slice of open space from Helsby Community Spots Club southwards, with native tree planting, wildflower and wetland meadow areas.

Planning documents conclude: "The application demonstrates that the development has significant merit in planning terms as well as providing economic and social benefits, which will contribute to the future growth of Helsby.

"It is therefore deemed that although the site is ‘greenfield’, it is situated in a highly sustainable location and is considered a logical extension of the existing settlement, in line with the site’s allocation, and will not have adverse effect in the wider countryside."