Two new housing estates could debut on Cheshire farmland

Housing developer Redrow is seeking planning permission to construct two housing estates on farmland in the north of Widnes.  

The land has been recommended for approval at a meeting of Halton Council’s development management committee on Monday. The developer is seeking to build over 400 new homes on Mill Green Farm and 51 on Oak Villa.

Developments, should they receive the greenlight, would consist of one, two, three, four and five-bed properties with 96 of them earmarked to be affordable to help residents with the current cost-of-living pressures.

Despite being previously used as green belt land – used as a buffer between towns and between town and countryside – building restrictions were axed in 2022 when the council voted unanimously to approve its latest delivery and allocations local plan – a blueprint which sets out the borough’s planning policy up to 2037.

Local authority bosses said at the time the move was necessary due to a lack of previously-developed brownfield land which was needed to fulfil the area’s housing requirements.

Recommending the application to be given the go-ahead, the report said the proposal was ‘a well-designed housing scheme that comprises a visually attractive layout with good quality architectural design of the applicant’s heritage line of housing’.

However, a document for planning Chiefs has outlined problems with the proposal as 154 objections have been received with concerns including the impact on roads, nearby schools, and GP practices.

Image: Tomasz Bazylinski