A housing developer claims more residents “accept” the need for controversial plans to build a new “Nantwich South” village.
Colin Muller unveiled updated plans to create 1,000 homes in Stapeley with a new school, shops, business units and sports pitches.
Around 200 people visited the latest exhibition of the plans held at Nantwich Methodist Church on Hospital Street yesterday (July 9).
And although Mr Muller, who runs Muller Property Group, admitted there is still a “mixed reaction”, he believes more people are now accepting of the need for new housing.
Changes to the original draft plans include a new primary school and more start-up business units.
“Cheshire East has a requirement to provide a certain number of new homes each year, and it’s falling short of that,” said Mr Muller.
“But we don’t want to just build houses, we want to create a village centre for Stapeley.”
He hit out at developers of the Cronkinson Farm estate for their lack of vision.
“What they provided for Cronkinson was paltry and tokenism,” he said. “Not a lot of thought went into it.
“Our scheme is big – up to 1,000 houses – and we have to have a vision for that site in two years or 10 years time.
“And for this to be successful we need a village centre and need to channel traffic through the centre to provide business.”
Many residents have raised concerns about the impact on traffic on surrounding routes like Peter de Stapleigh Way, Audlem Road, and London Road.
Other fears included impact on school places, medical/health services, and loss of green fields.
Mr Muller revealed the £25 million first phase of the development, if passed by Cheshire East Council, could begin as early as Spring 2013.
The first phase would see around 190 homes built, a new primary school, local village shops and business units constructed, and a village green.
Nantwich Town Council discussed the develpment at their meeting last night (July 9).
Cllr Penny Butterill said: “They seem to have taken into account a lot of what was said initially into account.”
But Cllr Arthur Moran added: “With new houses already going ahead on the old Stapeley Water Gardens site, it is vital we ask Muller back to the town council and let him know our views on the proposal.”
Mr Muller said an outline planning application could be submitted to Cheshire East in August, with a final exhibition of plans to be held soon after.
What do you think? Is “Nantwich South” needed?
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Dear sir,
VERY SAD TO HERE STAPLEY GARDENS TO CLOSE.
THIS WAS THE BEST GARDEN CENTERE FOR HUNDRENS OF MILES.
VERY SAD VERY SAD.
J HARKER….
I wholeheartedly disagree with the Nantwich South proposal and am yet to meet any local residents who think otherwise. I believe Nantwich has had its fair share of development over the past decade. Any further development would ruin the character of the town and the surrounding countryside.
The infrastructure around the proposed area can barely cope and more houses can only make it worse.
I believe Muller are saying what they think we want to hear, talking about lower housing densities and no more than 2-storey buildings. However, it is all too easy to put in a late planning application for a much more dense, 3-storey devlopement, similar to those on the last 2 recent major Nantwich developments at Kronkinson Farm and Kingsley Village.
Realsitically, these 2 estates are the only models we have for what will happen, with a perimiter wall that looks like a prison similar to that viewed from the bypass which skirts Kingsley Village, and with cars parked all over the roads because the houses are so tightly packed that there is not sufficient parking prevision for all residents.
If development on this sort of enormous scale continues Nantwich will no longer be a charming market town with some surrounding residential estates, it will become a massive, faceless, characterless, sprawling conurbation with a tiny town centre lost in he middle of it.
The town centre can barely cope with the number of Nantwich residents as it is, have you tried parking in Nanwich on a Saturday? I dread to think what the situation will be like if this devleopment goes ahead.