A developer has submitted plans to build more than 500 new homes in a Stockport village. The scheme, by Harrow Estates, would be a major expansion of the Woodford Garden Village site with the addition of 540 new properties across 35 hectares of land within Stockport’s green belt.
These will be made up of a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments, and houses with three, four and five bedroom options. Half of the proposed homes would be designated as affordable housing, with social rent and affordable ownership tenures.
It includes 15 plots for self-build homes and 75 extra care homes for older people, which will also be affordable housing. Nearly 50 percent of the development has been earmarked for a mix of open accessible natural, semi-natural and amenity green space.
Woodford Garden Village first gained planning permission in 2015 and since then more than 600 homes have been built on the site of the former Woodford Aerodrome, along with the Aviator pub restaurant and Woodford Primary School.
The plans could include expanding the local primary school.
New community spaces are part of the expansion plans, with a community hub proposed within a new square next to the Avro Heritage Museum, which includes access to local facilities such as a cafe and a community building.
A mobility hub will also be located centrally within the square to promote active travel by providing bike storage, changing facility, and cycle rental and repair, Harrow Estates said, as well as an additional area of car parking space to serve visitors to Avro Golf Club.
This would be accessed via the Garden Village, which bosses say will help to reduce traffic and congestion reported by residents on Old Hall Lane.
The planned extension to the village could also increase the size of Woodford Primary School, which was designed to accommodate future additional space requirements.
Harrow Estates said it will work with Stockport council and other stakeholders to explore local school capacity through the planning process.
The extension will make use of the existing Woodford Garden Village access routes, with a network of foot and cycle path routes linking the extension with Woodford Garden Village and beyond, to promote active travel and reduce reliance on private vehicle transport.
Tim Noden, planning director at Harrow Estates, said the new homes would “play a significant role in helping to tackle the very high levels of housing need in the borough which are currently going unmet.”
He added: “Our design is landscape-led, with almost half of the site dedicated to accessible open space. Bio-diversity improvements will be achieved through the use of SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems), wildflower meadows, planting of hedges and extended woodlands.
“The proposed development will also be supported by enhanced facilities, including a flexible, mixed-use community hub which could accommodate a range of uses.”